#i could point out that jonas is always invited to these occasions just not always in the mood to attend

[episims]

Julian "-since it's fundamental for all the natural sciences. But I considered astronomy, too."

Emil "Oh. You spaced out on it...?"

Julian "—No. I believe the primary focus should be on solving terrestrial phenomenons we don't yet understand-"

Sara "-okay, but did you know that bees shouldn't be able to fly??"

Aurora "No, that's a myth. You can't use the same calculations for airplanes and something that can move its wings."

Sara "Damn, are you sure...? I heard that from a pretty reliable source."

[wickedsrest-rp]

TIMING: Current LOCATION: Vicker’s Beach SUMMARY: Night 2 of the Wicked’s Rest Bondfire is here, and while it’s debatable whether everyone had a good time, everyone did have a time. Feel free to take home some leftover food and goodies! NOTE: Please be sure to reblog this thread if your character is in it, and we will count it as a thread for the next Activity Check.

The Great Carapaced One did not rise last night, and as a result all of those s’mores materials were consumed by townsfolk enjoying the bondfire. OLD JONATHAN had run enough of these that he was expecting as much, but part of him had hoped all of those swarming shrimp along the shore were a sign The Drowning was nigh. Ah well. He shuffled around, shepherding the volunteers to restock the crafts table with new supplies, make sure all the lanterns were ready, and stoke the fire under the setting sun. The weather was agreeable again tonight, though the water a little more turbid. Maybe… just maybe… no, it was unlikely. He made the rounds thanking everyone for their work, saying things like “next year will be even better” and “just wait until next year.” As he and the volunteers departed to make way for the townsfolk, his only thoughts were about the shrimp. Next year indeed. Next year could be better.

It was hard not to remember the last party they’d gone to. Their heart was pounding in their chest as the smell of smoke strangled them, and they tried to force themself to relax. This would be good, they thought, would be fun; a relaxing night on the beach could be just that, even when your hands were trying to shake. Still, FELIX didn’t think they’d stay long. Just a little while, they thought, maybe just long enough to drop off the pies and say hello to a few people.

There were a lot of pies. It took several trips to carry them all to the table, stacked on top of one another. They’d done a variety of flavors, caught up in the stress relief that came with throwing ingredients together and tossing them all in the oven. There were fruit pies, there were meat pies, there were chocolate pies. There were some more experimental pies — FELIX wasn’t sure a shrimp pot pie would be particularly successful, but you never knew until you tried it, and they’d been feeling bolder about the shrimp cult lately, anyway. (It turned out experiencing one trauma could really do wonders for helping you forget another. Maybe therapy was overrated after all!) With the pies all piled on the table, Felix put their hands on their hips. “Do you think I should have made more?” He asked out loud, frowning. Thirty-seven pies was a lot, but maybe they should have gone for an even forty.

LIL wasn’t a big fan of gatherings on the beach, always a little weary of the water. Still though, a party was a party even if it was full of strangers. Being told by a few people to not bring anything food wise Lil had just let Jonas bring the treats. Treats that didn’t seem at all necessary.

Still LIL watched as the table got filled with objectively too many pies. Being in a bakery most of the time, she was pretty sure at this point she was an expert. Still, maybe the other was just enthusiastic about pies. Not quite recognizing Felix from their encounter before Lil chimed in, “Nah I mean that’s like a pie per person at least. You’re probably good. Are you like opening a pie shop or something?" She asked grabbing a plate to go try a slice.

The crackling of the fire felt like home, inviting and warm. On an evening like that, TEAGAN couldn't think of a better thing to do than to eat goodies and see their friends. Felix especially, considering they had made several pies in her kitchen for the occasion. Well, partly for it. She could tell there was something lingering in their mind, but she knew better than to push it. "Felix, my dear, 1 pie was plenty. I'm sure the whole place can be fed with all your hard work."

OLIVER had done his job, creating bouquets for the centerpieces. He had probably spent too much time stressing over good combinations since the most anyone would say was 'Oh how pretty', but it still mattered to him. Perhaps more than it should have. Looking at the table now, it seemed he wasn't the only one concerned about ensuring things looked good. There had to be what, over 30 pies? Not that he was one to complain, they all looked delicious. He would probably grab a slice after he ate some real food first. "I feel like the end of summer always comes faster than the end of winter." Oliver said to no one in particular as he finished placing his last bouquet in it's glass vase.

NICOLE considered turning her truck around several times before reaching Vicker's beach, indecision making a heavy pit in her stomach that filled with anxiety the closer she got to her destination. Subjecting herself to crowded spaces wasn't something she did of her own volition, when the option of being alone and spare herself from embarrassing moments was often available and enticing. By her side — on the passenger's seat — laid the reason she continued her drive. Nacho deserved all the time at the beach he wanted, possibly destroy a few sandcastles that survived, too. She kept driving, fighting against the instinct to isolate. Those day were meant to be in the past, she reminded herself.

She made it to the beach and let her dog run free, while she deposited the bottle of tequila she'd brought on one of the tables. Would've been fucking rude to arrive empty handed and avoid conversation too, no? It defeated the purpose of the bonfire. This way, she removed her self-imposed pressure to do more than she could. She spotted people she knew around the crowd, like Felix and Teagan hanging by what looked like a wall of pies, easing some of the nerves in her stomach. She decided to wait before approaching, instead, she strolled toward the s'mores station.

JONAS was amazed at the sight of so many pies. He set down the cupcake stand, the small desserts were decorated to look like they had small galaxies on the top with purple, blue and black icing. Golden sprinkles were added to represent the stars. He wasn't sure the cupcakes were even needed at this point, Felix's efforts could feed everyone in attendance and then some. "I um... If you ever wish to have a job at the bakery Felix please uh let me know." He smiled at them before turning his attention to placing his cookies out as well. Blue was at his side tail wagging and somehow resisting the urge to eat all of the snacks the humans left on the table.

Taking a cup of the tea she brought, TEAGAN scanned the area and saw a familiar face. "I'll be right back, my sweet" She kissed Felix's cheek and called out, "Ah, ain't you a sight for sore eyes, lass?" She made her way to the s'mores station and plopped her arm around Nicole. "Didn't think I'd see you at such a gathering, but I'm glad you came." Looking at the assortment of crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, Teagan rose her brows curiously. "What do we do here?"

MAGGIE was just a little disappointed. She had been hoping for at least a glimpse of some quality cryptid viewing- after all, the shore was perfect for Wormy sightings. But it was a party, first and foremost. People actually had fun at parties. And brought food. And socialized. The last of which was probably the thing she needed to do the most of... With a deep breath to steel herself, she marched towards the table with containers of what were basically pigs in a blanket... but she had made look like octopi instead.

Group social events were rarely the sort of thing KADEN would attend but something about everything that had happened recently, all the loss, he knew it was probably good for him to leave the house, be social or something like that. Monty knew that, too. Somehow they convinced one another it was worth the attempt. "This was probably stupid to bring," he said to his partner as he held the wine bottle in his hand. He was pretty sure you were supposed to bring something to places like this but he didn't really know what would be appropriate. So he grabbed a bottle of wine that had been tucked away in a corner of the kitchen for who knew how long. Wine was always a good choice for parties, right? "Is anyone even going to drink this?"

There were plenty of faces he recognized but approaching any of them seemed like a daunting task. There were two balam who he was sure were both still wary of him, the nyx who had nearly drowned him, and the twins among others. He didn't know where to start. Putting the wine down on the table in between the dozens of pies was a start. "That's a lot of pies," he said, eyeing the display. "Jonas? You make these?" It had to be the kid, right? No way anyone else would go that overboard.

Finding himself at the bonfire, ELIAS was trying not to let the entire thing make him wig out and leave, he was strong. he could do it. Still, he found himself by the snack table and staring down at the thirty-seven pies that Felix seemed to have baked. "That's a lot of pie," he muttered mostly to himself, then looking over to Maggie, he gave a small, polite wave. "Oh hey," he spoke to her with a smile. Better to talk to someone he knows then get lost in a sea of pie, right?

There had been no intention on MONTY'S part to attend this party, when he'd been told about it. Being around a bunch of people felt like the last thing he wanted to do, and yet... he would have wanted Kaden to go enjoy himself, so he figured it was only right if they both went. Even if it meant just standing quietly on the sidelines, sipping the wine that Kaden had thought to bring. Monty had nothing else to offer, so he'd just shrugged and given the man a small smile. "We will."

Following quietly after Kaden, fingers clasped in front of him as he looked at all the food he couldn't enjoy, the cowboy overheard someone else speaking to his left. He looked up to find a face he wasn't familiar with, and managed a chuckle. "This is true... especially this far north, ah?" He responded to Oliver. "Winter seems to be about half of the year."

ISA was never one to pass up on a party if she could help it. She loved being around people who weren't scowling at her constantly, people who were a lot more loose because of the lighthearted situation they were in. It always made her life easier. What wasn't helping was having to wear those stupid sunglasses at night. She could barely see anything when she walked up with Maggie and had to switch her eyes over so that she could follow heat signatures instead until she got closer to the fire.

"I don't think a lot of people turn down alcohol at a party." She said this with a smile thrown at the guy who'd asked about the wine before taking a seat next to the fire. "I bet it will pair well with the pigs in a blanket."

Now that the pies had been safely deposited on the table, FELIX wasn’t sure what to do with themself. Teagan fluttered off to speak to Nicole, and while Felix offered the other balam a small smile in greeting, they felt a stone form in their stomach at the thought of having a conversation with her. After all, the last time the pair spoke in person had been at that stream, blood still staining Felix’s skin. Their shoulder ached at the thought now, the injury left there after the barn party aching. They turned away only to spot Monty and Kaden entering, finding yet another memory of the last social event they’d attempted ready and waiting. This was a bad idea. This had definitely been a bad idea. “Um, no pie shop,” they said, forcing themself to reply to the woman beside him (wasn’t she an exorcist? Their throat felt dry.) with a soft chuckle. “Just, uh, had some time on my hands, I guess.” At least Jonas was here, a familiar face who hadn’t been at the barn party. Felix offered him a smile. “I probably wouldn’t be good at it,” they replied, making sure to look at him as they spoke so he could read their lips more easily. “I just, um… I felt like baking.” Baking let them forget about the stress, even if only for a moment. “They probably won’t taste good.”

NICOLE breathed out a nervous laugh when Teagan approached. Her smile, however, was genuine as she greeted her friend. If heat rose in her cheeks, she would blame the fire. "Guess I can't stay in the cabin forever," she watched out for Nacho, looking intrigued at the fire dancer. "Never done s'mores in a bonfire?" her words were laced in a curious tone. There was so much she didn't know about fae and what they did. She didn't think she would ever be in the position to teach the human ways to anyone. "Right. I can uh — s'mores," she pointed at a cracker, "you grab two, and a piece of chocolate—" she held it on top of one of the crackers, showing it to her friend. "You stick a marshmallow," she demonstrated, handing the stick to Teagan and then moved toward the fire. Guiding carefully to the flames. It roasted briefly. "Once that's hot, you put it on top of the chocolate, and— you... close with the other cracker. Like— it's like a sandwich."

LIL got a slice of some sort of pie, maybe a berry as she scooped up some into her mouth she said, “Nah dude this is great. You sure?” Looking over at her brother she signed with one of her hands knowing a lot of people might overwhelm him, “Okay?”

OLIVER nodded "Yeah, exactly. I feel like we are also missing out on a proper end to summer feel with all the rain we've been getting recently." He motioned to the sky. "Now, if we could also you know, not get snow in march, that would be great" Oliver joked, giving a matching smile to the other.

The corners of MAGGIE'S eyes crinkled ad a mix of joy and relief flickered across her face. Isa was at her side (though, if her hands weren't full of tin containers of her little not-quite-sea-creature creations, she'd probably have been holding her hand for a little extra support), and now she had Elias, too! "Hey, El!" The tins were plopped unceremoniously so she could give him a quick hug. "I'm gonna steal a whole pie- do you think that's okay? There are so many- Have you ever met Isa? She's the best-"

KADEN stood there blinking for a moment. So Felix had made the pies? Putain de merde. This whole thing was more awkward than he anticapted already. "They look nice," he said, attempting to be polite. He sighed and figured he could manage to go a step farther than that. He grabbed a knife and started to cut small slices from a few of the pies. "I'll taste test and let you know." He cracked a small smile as Lil beat him to it. Well, at least it wasn't inedible. "Which is which?"

As Maggie gave him a hug, ELIAS tried his hardest not to lock up and freeze at the idea of being touched. It had been so long since he'd been hugged, why was he so nervous all of a sudden? Snap out of it, enjoy the party. Elias shook his head and focused on Maggie's words. "I think there's enough pie for you to take a whole one, yeah." He agreed with a thumbs-up. Then his attention turned to the girl that was with Maggie, and gave a quick wave towards her. "Hello," he greeted with that same smile. He then looked around, noticing a few familiar faces. "Felix, the pie is good!" He told his friend, raising up a piece of pie that he had began to munch on. "Good job!"

"March.... sometimes April... there are ways to make me miss Oaxaca, and the snow in April here is definitely one of them." MONTY shook his head, letting his attention slide briefly over to Felix before looking away. He wanted to make sure they were okay (they'd said they were, but of course they had, even though none of them were okay after what had happened).... but now was not the time. So instead, he reached for the bottle Kaden had brought and pulled out the opener he'd brought along in his pocket, digging the sharp spiral down into the cork. He looked at the stranger he'd been talking to, raising his brows. "Would you like some wine? He tells me it is a good year." He looked at the cups on the table and chuckled. "Though drinking from a red solo cup might ruin the experience, a little bit. Oh well."

At least the pie wouldn’t go to waste here. FELIX tried to keep their smile from wavering as the exorcist (Lil, they reminded themself, her name was Lil, and wasn’t she Jonas’s sister? They needed to be better at remembering these things.) took a bite from one of the pies. “Uh, I don’t know. I got a little — I mean, I tried some new things, and I don’t know if — Um, it might not work.” Now Kaden was talking about the pies, too. Kaden, who was Monty’s boyfriend and also a ranger, and had probably had a lot of friends on the farm that Felix might or might not have eaten, and — They took a deep breath, trying to steady themself. This was fine. They were fine. “That one is avocado pie,” they announced as Kaden cut a slice. “It has. Avocados. In it. Uh.” They really should have labeled these. “The one next to it has grapes! And there’s — Do you like apple? People like apple.” Too many people were talking about the pies. Felix was regretting them now, regretting the attention.

JONAS had to tilt his head to the right to catch what Felix was saying, the dim light of the fire made his left eye practically useless. "I am sure they are wonderful." They looked good from what he could see so far and Lil was already digging in, he offered his twin a small smile before signing back, "I am alright." He was glad she was here, it would have been a nightmare trying to keep up with conversations otherwise. "Oh! Um Felix this is my twin, Lil."

"Okay but which kind do we want to take?" ISA lowered her voice a little so that only Maggie and the other person could hear. "Or we could take two because I want something fruity but also is that a meat pie?" Realizing Maggie's friend could probably hear her, she returned his smile and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm not the best, Maggie tells lies."

"How lovely. But why call them s'mores? What are you...some more of what?" TEAGAN grabbed the ingredients and placed them on a paper plate just as Nicole offered her a stick with a marshmallow on it. She followed the balam and crouched down to roast her marshmallow. "How does one marsh a mallow anyway? Do you know the process?" The fire danced just beneath the sugary treat, turning it melty and a golden brown. Teagan followed the next steps accordingly and made a pretty messy chocolate sandwich. "And then we just...take a bite, right?"

Giving a smile to Isa, ELIAS began to drift to other people. Noticing the discomfort on Felix's face, he strode over to the balam and waved at them. "Want to help me grill?" He asked, gesturing to the grill that was set up to the side. "Get us away from the crowd." He then added, shrugging a shoulder. It was a suggestion that didn't need to be taken, but he figured he'd try to give the balam an out if they needed it.

LIL stood next to Jonas ready to intervene but not trying to be overbearing. Her twin had been through a lot, and he was looking forward to this. She nodded tapping his elbow to let him know she'd stay next to him. Putting the pie down for a second she took out a Monster cracking it open with one hand. “Nice to meet you Felix.” There was something familiar about the other, but she figured maybe it had been a ghost haunting. She said keeping her hand free waving to Kaden “Hey you and Monty? Lucky day.”

OLIVER watched as the stranger's eyes moved away from him. Was he boring them? Oliver supposed that talking about the weather patterns wasn't exactly fun party talk. He had only come down because he felt like it was something that he should do, but watching everyone form groups and chat made him feel very much like an intruder. He wet his lips, "Oaxaca, that's in Mexico, right?" Oliver asked, racking his brain for if he had ever ended up there. He had been in Mexico once, for a year or two before setting off elsewhere. "I suppose you then run into the issue of it being very warm all year" Oliver joked before nodding at the possibility of wine. He didn't even really like wine that much, but he wasn't going to cause random tension for no reason. "That would be great! If anything, solo cups just make me think of a college party; which this has a similar vibe to anyway" Oliver grinned.

"Felix made the pies? Wait, Felix is here? You know Felix?? And I don't lie, I speak the truth." MAGGIE'S voice rose in growing delight as she peered around in the dying light of day. She'd have to find them if she could... and maybe keep the pie thievery secret. "There's like at least forty of 'em, I think we could totally steal two," The girl whispered in her best friend's ear, trying not to giggle and give herself away.

NICOLE offered Felix a tight lipped smile when their eyes locked. Should she go over eventually? A party didn't seem the appropriate place to ask about how anyone was dealing after presumably eating a few of their friends. She didn't know, her experience in partying was limited. But it seemed like the type of thing bound to bring the mood down. She mimicked Teagan, grabbing another stick for herself. At the question, she fell quiet. "I've never— No clue what a marshmallow is. Sugar?" She pressed her s'more together, looking at Teagan's. "Pretty good effort. Yeah, you can take a bite".

KADEN was worried his presence might give the balam a heart attack and wondered if he should find somewhere else to exist. First, he took a piece of the avocado pie. It was.... interesting. He did his best to keep his face neutral but no one had ever told him he had a good poker face. "Not.... bad." He tried the supposed grape one. Putain, where did they get these recipes? "This one is better." Which was true but only marginally. He decided that was enough pie for today. "Shouldn't have eaten before I got here." He was relieved to have Lil interrupt. "Yeah we managed to get both of us out of the house. How's Auggie?"

Elias offered them an out, and FELIX sagged in quiet relief. “Yeah,” they agreed, “the grill sounds, uh, fun.” It didn’t, but it sounded more fun than fighting off a panic attack in the midst of a mountain of pies. They offered Lil a small smile, turned to Kaden with a nod, avoided eye contact with Monty with a guilty gnawing in their gut. “Uh, I’m going to… Grill things. Not pies!” Were people worried they’d make more pies? Maybe thirty-seven was too many after all.

“Auggie is good! He’s a little too much of a rascal to go to the beach though, so it’s only Blue right now.” LIL replied finishing the slice of pie to have one of her hands free at least. “You haven’t met Luna yet. Or the chickens I don’t think.” Lil nodded to Felix glad that they seemed to calm down. Seeing Maggie out of the corner of her eye Lil waved slightly.

"Interesting." She smiled and held her s'more at eye level. Chocolate dripped along the edges and painted her hands. She was going to be sticky, TEAGAN was sure of it, but took a bite anyway. All the flavors mixed well together in an explosion of sugar. The nix smiled and nodded joyfully. "Good choice, dear. This is delicious!" Teagan collected a few more ingredients and made a second treat, a little neater that time. "Mind if I go get one to my friend Felix? I'll bring back wine if you'd like."

KADEN saw that his partner had cracked open the wine and that seemed like a necessity to get through the rest of the evening. He nudged Monty and handed him a cup to fill while keeping his eyes on Lil. "Luna? Chickens? What, you running a zoo now?"

Her hand lowered slowly as Maggie's friend walked away, ISA shrugging. Hopefully she hadn't offended him somehow. It didn't matter though, Maggie was ready to plan a pie heist with her, a tiny shiver passing through her as the girl's breath cascaded over her ear. "Alright, here's the plan. When we're ready to leave, I grab one, you grab the other and we make a run for the car. Nobody can say anything if they can't catch us. In the meantime, lets mingle."

Nodding his head and guiding Felix over to the grill, ELIAS placed down a few steaks that he'd brought, along with some chicken. "I'm not good at parties either," he told the other with a frown. "I'm trying, don't get me wrong, just... not doing great at the whole socialization thing." He waved his fingers as if socializing were a mystical idea. He stared down at the meat, knowing his heart wasn't in it. He could leave, of course, but that would be awkward seeing as he only just arrived.

Blue perked up at the mention of her name finally taking her eyes off the buffet before her to notice the familiar face next to them, she whined and pressed against Kaden for pets, tail thumping excitedly. JONAS watched as Felix moved not catching what the other was saying as they did but offering a small wave in greeting to the man who seemed to be guiding them away. He chuckled at the comment, "The um chickens are mine. It is lovely to see you again Kaden."

"Sí!" MONTY laughed, a little more genuinely this time, recalling how terribly cold this place had felt in comparison to Mexico at first. He'd gotten more used to it by now, but still. Popping the bottle open with a huff, the cowboy reached for the provided cups and poured them each a few fingers of wine (he was pretty sure that was not how you measured wine, but he was more of a whisky or tequila sort of person), and passed a cup to the stranger, and then to Kaden. "Ah, I am sorry, -- my name is Monty. What is yours?" While waiting for an answer, he took a sip of the wine, and failed to stop himself making a slight face of... disappointment? Again, he was more of a hard liquor drinker.

LIL barked out a laugh “No not a zoo, just a few animals. Luna is a cat Monty’s met her.” She didn’t mention what kind of cat Luna was assuming that she didn’t have the permit. Lil nodded along with Jonas. Signing to Jonas she said, "He's just messing around."

Her smile flickered momentarily as she watched Elias walk away, wondering if the hug had been 'too much'. Maybe she needed to tone her energy down? Cool. Be cool. And it wasn't like MAGGIE could ever be sad long- not with Isa grinning conspiratorially alongside her. "Deal. Socializing and then pie thievery."

"Oh, I didn't— I didn't come up with this, but... thanks, happy you like it—" NICOLE nodded, second-guessing for a moment before taking a bite of the s'more. It was messy, most of it spilled to the paper plate she'd grabbed and it didn't taste as sweet as most people claimed it did, but Nicole felt a small pang of nostalgia in her chest. She couldn't remember the last time she'd done this. Watching Teagan make another, she smiled. "Go for it. Think I'll pass on the wine— I'll meet you there," she nodded at the grill station, where Felix and a tall man hung out. "Will check on Nacho and that fire— dance thing, first."

OLIVER shook his head "No, you're totally fine. My names Oliver. Nice to meet you Monty" He said, giving a small cheers with the cup and taking a sip. It wasn't..bad, but it felt like the type of wine you used at a proper dinner party; rather than a beach party. He glanced over at the other person who had gotten a cup and gave a small wave. The other person seemed to be having a conversation with someone else and Oliver didn't want to butt in, but figured it would be rude to just ignore them. "So! Monty, what brought you here? Maine is quite a jump from Mexico."

"Wait, what kind are you grabbing? Knowing our luck we'll both grab the same pie and have an excess of one flavor." ISA spoke as she slung an arm over Maggie's shoulder and started to walk them towards the s'mores station. Chocolate was a must and there were people they could talk to. "Does anyone else love when the marshmallow is burnt to a crisp on the outside or is that just me?"

KADEN cracked a smile as Blue begged for attention. He was all to happy to give it to her, ruffling her fur. "A cat and chickens, huh?" he said, huffing out a laugh. "An interesting combination. I'm assuming you keep them separated." He was giving them a bit of a hard time but in truth, he trusted them both. "I'll have to stop by to see them soon." He realized the panic that might cause, given his job. "Just to say hi. No official business. Promise."

"Oh, if you start moving those legs, I'm definitely joining in. Don't think I'll get to hanging tonight." TEAGAN winked with a grin, turning around and closing the distance to Felix. They looked like they were a little anxious, but smiling overall with a few more familiar faces around them. When she reached them, Teagan offered the plate over and placed a comforting hand at the small of their back. She whispered in their ear, "You okay, dear? Brought this sweet thing for you."

LIL did look startled for a second and laughed. “Sounds good Kaden. And No Luna’s more likely to herd the chickens, but I make sure she’s supervised around them. Still come by anytime. You and Monty are always welcome.” She trusted Luna, but she wasn’t as domesticated as Blue and she always kept that in mind. Seeing people coming up she looked finding familiar faces. “Yo - Maggie right? Hey.”

Trying as hard as he could to keep a happy face on, ELIAS' smile wavered at the appearance of Teagan. The last time he'd seen her was when he worked at the fae bar. Back when he first discovered fae weren't just people in costume. A wave a panic surged through him, and he tried his damndest to stifle it down before it reared its ugly head. "Excuse me," he murmured to Felix and Teagan before moving toward the fire and staring into it, trying to ground himself.

The hand on their back was a familiar one, even amongst the stress. FELIX turned towards Teagan with a small smile, this one more genuine than the ones they’d been feigning for most of the night so far. “Thirty-seven pies might have been too many pies,” they told her quietly, faint humor to their tone. “Oh, you made s’mores? I like s’mores.” They paused. “One of the pies is a s’mores pie, you know.” Time to stop talking about pies, wasn’t it? Too much pie talk. Elias disappeared swiftly, and Felix looked after him with a furrowed brow. "Oh... Um, okay, see you in a little bit."

MONTY didn't... really know how to answer that question. Which was stupid, because he'd had six years to figure it out, but had never bothered. "Oh! Well... that is a good question," he laughed. "I guess I got to a point where I did not have much keeping me there anymore, and I just... started moving north? I did not have a destination in mind, but when I got here, I met a few people that convinced me to stay. And here I am, six years later! For some reason, even with the cold. What about you? Are you from around here?"

Two young girls walked over to the s'more station before NICOLE left to check on Nacho. One of them voiced a question out loud. Should she answer? Was she talking to somebody else? She turned to her, eyes darting around the younger woman's face, in an attempt at eye contact. Should she introduce herself? Fuck, she shouldn't be sweating at a s'mores station. It was the fire's fault. "Uh— now that you say it... Think I like it like that too," something about the smokey flavor added a quality to it, than the usual golden brown didn't. "Is that a weird thing?"

JONAS wasn't as startled as his twin was when Kaden said he'd pop round for a visit, the younger twin was always happy to have company at their house. "I am sure the girls will love a new visitor!" He beamed watching as Lil turned to look around the fire, opting to do the same. The man that had taken Felix was back rather quickly and staring into the fire with a fat away look he couldn't help but move over to him, "Are you um alright?"

As Lil moved on to speak with someone else, KADEN noticed Elias had made his way to the fire. It seemed like a calm spot and he gave Monty's shoulder a small squeeze before heading over to sit next to Elias, happy to be quiet for a bit. "Hey," he said to the man who was looking a little dazed and distant. "You doing alright?" Seemed like Jonas had the same idea. Of course he did, he was a nice kid after all.

"Too many of something isn't always bad." TEAGAN reassured, "Think of all the pies people can take home now and what a feat it is to have baked so many." She rubbed at few circles to try to comfort Felix. They were never too sure of themself, and while Teagan wished she could change that, she opted instead to be their biggest fan. She'd be their reminder that they were worth more than just what they could do or offer, and that their hope and kindness was a strength. "Gonny grab some wine. You want any?"

"I don't think it's weird at all." ISA gave the other girl a bright smile, reaching up to push her sunglasses all the way over her eyes. "I love them burnt like that. Some others might think it's not good but it's the only way I'll eat them." She speared a few marshmallows on a stick and stuck them directly in the fire. "You want one?"

OLIVER shook is head "No that totally makes sense. I'm in a bit of a similar situation. I'm actually from here, but left for awhile to travel and then came back" He was careful to not give specific time frames for how long he had lived here before leaving; and how long he had been gone for. "Wicked's Rest has it's charms for sure" He joked, taking another sip of his wine, if only because it was something to do. Oliver glanced at the people standing by the fire "Everything ok over there you think?"

Did they want wine? FELIX considered it, sighing uncertainly. “I can come with you?” They offered, glancing towards the table again. They were here to socialize, so they needed to make themself actually socialize. Otherwise, the point would be lost, wouldn’t it? “I think I saw Maggie and Isa, some kids I know. I can introduce you, if you don’t know them already? They’re nice.” And hadn’t been at the farm party where Felix may or may not have eaten several people, which was a real plus.

ELIAS jumped as two people came up to him to make sure he was alright. One was a stranger, the other was Kaden. "Oh, I'm... good." His voice cracked. he wasn't good. "I don't do parties," he lied easily, though it seemed to get caught in his throat. "Just a lot of people. I'm not good with crowds." He looked back over to Felix who had been left alone again, then back to the fire. "I'll be... alright." He reassured the two, wishing they were somewhere else.

"Want any wine?" KADEN asked, looking back over to see Teagan taking a swig for herself. His eyes narrowed as he watched her. He wanted to snatch it away from her and say she wasn't allowed, like some kind of petulant child. He hoped she saw his glare from across the way at the very least.

"Splendid!" TEAGAN grinned and hooked her arm with Felix's, pulling them toward the table with wine. "Hmm...I'm feeling a white tonight, but the weather is a little cool." She tapped on her chin, contemplating with her eyes narrowed. "Red, it is!" Filling two glasses, Teagan handed one to Felix, and then took a sip of her own while her friend mentioned a few names. One of which was familiar. But she was too distracted with the glare she was receiving. She blinked several times, finally saying, "Oh, Maggie? I know Maggie. But, um...never mind. Friends?"

"Ah," it was settled then. NICOLE felt normal for once. And though she was curious as to why the young girl had sunglasses on, she figured it would be rude to ask about it. She was clueless, but thanks to her anxiety, she knew to avoid potentially embarrassing situations. If Nicole had to guess, she'd imagine the fire could have something to with it. Even she felt like her face was burning as they drew near. "Hm?" She noticed the stick and deliberated for a moment. Nacho looked happy, tail wagging at the dancer, who— she didn't have time to wonder why it looked like that. She was here to practice her social skills, no? "Yeah, sure. One sounds good," she fidgeted with her hands briefly then added, "I'm Nicole, you?"

Kaden seemed to know this man leaving JONAS to follow his lead. "Mm a um little bit of wine might help ease the nerves." Jonas wasn't going to partake in drinking himself, he didn't wish for anymore of his senses to be dulled while outside.

FELIX took the wine as Teagan offered it to them, taking a sip. They caught sight of Kaden looking their way, a dark look on his face. Was he looking at them? Was he angry about the party after all? Maybe he just hadn’t wanted to show it in front of Monty before, hadn’t wanted to bring Monty down. Felix swallowed, the wine in their mouth feeling more like shards of glass as it went down their throat. “Hm?” They turned to Teagan. “Oh. Yeah, that’s okay! Go, uh, go say hi! I’m going to…” They trailed off, nodding towards where Maggie and Isa stood talking to Nicole before heading over. They should say hi to Nicole, too, even if they felt uneasy. She was still their friend — and a good friend, at that. Felix made their way over, a small smile present on their face. “Hey, guys,” they greeted. “Is this — uh, are you having… fun?”

Biting down on his lower lip, ELIAS struggled to stay still, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt idly. "Oh, no I'm... alright." Elias's eyes shifted to the giant beak sticking out of the water. "Other people see that, right?" He asked, pointing towards the giant bird beak. "Like, that's there? I'm not... losing it more than I already have?"

MONTY nodded in agreement, then followed Oliver's gaze over to the people by the fire: one of which was Kaden, who had wandered over to talk to them. He hummed, and then shrugged. "Probably not," he answered bluntly. And, surprising even himself, he laughed about it. What else was there to do now but laugh? It was... insane, this place. These people. Yet he remained. "I think that is pretty typical, you know? What with the..." he gestured vaguely toward the ocean and the large, bird-like beak that rose up from it. "All of it."

It was so easy to fall into a sense of ease with Isa guiding her along through the party. With the girl's arm slung over her shoulder, things simply got easier. MAGGIE wrapped an arm around her waist to give her friend a quick squeeze as they went. "I'm stealing that raspberry cream pie. It's got my name on it." Some familiar faces were gathered around the s'mores station. Lil, the lady who was (unfairly) banned from the Cryptid Club... and also new people. The woman who answered Isa's question wasn't someone she knew, but she was right. The girl flashed a quick grin Lil's way. "Hi Lil- yeah, that's me..."

LIL followed after Jonas keeping an eye out sipping on her monster she kept looking at what seemed to be a mime on fire. It was hard to tear her eyes away as she spoke to Maggie. Juggling a lot of distractions was never her strong suit and a lot of it was making sure she kept an eye on her brother. “Nice. Glad I remembered. How’s the cryptid hunting? Anything here?"

"Oh I'm ISA." She wiped a hand on her jeans before thrusting it towards Nicole to shake. "This is Maggie." She pointed to her friend who was now in conversation with someone else. Just as she was about to ask Nicole a question, Isa heard Felix as they walked up to them. "Hey! I don't know about the others but I'm having a good time, what about you? You want a burnt marshmallow?" She pulled the flaming marshmallows out of the fire and blew on them quickly to make the flames go away.

"O-okay." For a few beats, TEAGAN stood there, staring back, the corners of her eyes stinging. The sensation eventually filled the tip of her nose, and she slammed her cup down on the table before making a beeline to Felix, and apparently Maggie too. "H-hi Maggie," She feigned a smile, pulling her friend a few steps out to say what she needed. "Um, Felix, I...I have to go. Someone..." Her voice lowered. "Someone I hurt is here. I shouldn't have come. Visit the cabin after?"

KADEN looked over to what Elias was pointing at. He sighed at the sight of the fucking beak. "Yeah, that's there. Like the legs, I think." With everything happening around him, he couldn't find it in himself to care about what sort of bullshit was happening in the rest of the town or what sort of apocalypse might be brewing.

OLIVER blinked at the other once and then twice before laughing "Honestly? fair. I feel like enough weird things happen around here that a lot of people have seen some shit." Oliver nodded toward the beak "Yeah...Don't love that whole thing. Maybe it'll just...disappear at some point or something." That would be too nice though, so something bad will probably happen at some point. Oliver tried not to think about that though.

"It's... nice to meet you two," she supposed it was the point of the bonfire. In other circumstances she would've never met Isa or Maggie. She doubted their interests aligned. Felix had walked over to the station as well, and NICOLE greeted them with a nod, before her facial muscles decided it was fine to smile too. It was a relief to see them after the clearing, where they've been so broken by their actions. "Don't know if fun is— the word. But uh... it's alright. Nacho's having a better time," he always was. "Have you, uh, made s'mores before? Had to— show Teagan," if that ended up being her job at the party then... she wouldn't mind that. At least she'd have a purpose and it would keep her busy until it was time to leave.

"Bird beak?" JONAS looked where Elias and Kaden were not looking. He wasn't sure how he had missed theat upon arriving but now that he noticed it, it was a little concerning. He turned his attention to another new face whose lips began moving as well. This was a nightmare scenario, he should have stayed by Lil but was now trying to keep track of the conversation happening between everyone on his own. "Oh I um hope so."

A burnt marshmallow sounded pretty good, actually. FELIX nodded, feeling a little more relaxed. “It’s, uh… It’s something,” they replied, glancing out towards the beak in the water. Something was the only word they could think to apply to it at the moment. “I’ve had s’mores, yeah! I like s’mores. They’re good.” Teagan appeared beside them again, and Felix let her gently pull them off for a more private exchange. Their smile faded as she admitted someone she’d hurt was here, and she needed to go. They wondered if they should make a similar move. After all, hadn’t they hurt Monty? And Kaden? Maybe not physically, but… They thought of the farm again, trying not to let the smell of the bonfire overwhelm them. A distraction. They were here for a distraction. “Okay,” they whispered. “Yeah. Um… You know, if you — If you wanted to stay, it’s — I think — You could.” But if she wanted to go, they wouldn’t stop her. Even if having her here did feel a little like having a security blanket to fall back on.

MONTY took another sip of the wine (also just for a thing to do with his hands), and sighed. "I do not know. I hope it does, but..." His gaze was fixed on it now, the gears turning in his head. Which was a bit of a feat, considering how rusty they'd become over the last century. "... what do you think it is? I have hear people claiming it is just an art thing, but... to make something of that size in one night?"

It was so strange to meet people all at once. Thrown in the middle of a conversation, with Isa conducting the whole thing like a damned Maestro. MAGGIE tried not to panic, casually scooping up Isa’s free hand in her own. “Cryptid stuff is going okay- hasn’t killed me yet- Oh! Hi, Felix, hi Teagan-“ Was she succeeding at the whole socializing thing? She wasn’t too sure…

ELIAS rocked back and forth on his feet, watching the beak for a while, wondering if it would open, what would happen if he stared at it for too long. Someone had called it an art display, but now this in the middle of the ocean? Something was seriously up, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. He would He looked to Kaden once, then knew what he had to do. He walked over to Maggie and tugged on her shirt. "We should absolutely look into the beak at some point." He told her before walking back over to Kaden and Jonas. "S'more?" He offered, pointing over his shoulder at the table set up, now that he had a new purpose.

"Of what?" KADEN responded. Some more of what? He saw the marshmallows on sticks people around the fire were holding. "Is that what the sticks are for?"

LIL nodded and realized she had lost track of Jonas she panicked for a moment before seeing her twin had moved. "Oh sorry - I gotta go uh check on my brother." She normally wouldn't be this diligent, but with the last year she'd been weary. Moving back to Jonas she signed sorry and tried to listen in.

"I don't think I can," She sniffled, and blinked away her tears, knowing she had no right to cry. "Almost...you know." TEAGAN'S shoulder's fell with guilt, "Let me know if you need anything. I'll be home." She gave Felix a side hug before turning on her heel with a forced smile. "Sorry, I have to go, Maggie! But it was nice seeing you!"

OLIVER looked down, picking up a piece of pie (He didn't take the time to look at all options, feeling a bit intimidated) and grabbing a spare fork. Oliver figured he needed to eat something other then wine. He took a bite, (Strawberry it seemed, and it was delicious) and hummed as he thought of a good answer. "Doubt it's a art thing. Probably a weird... creature of some sort. I think it would be best to not get too close to it. I've heard rumors that the ones who tried disappeared so..."

Maybe it was some of the nervy, awkward energy that hung in the air, but the tugging on the sleeve of her shirt had MAGGIE damn near jumping out of her skin. Relief melted over her when she realized it was Elias. “You want to sail out to the beak????” And just like that, he was slipping off to the next point of conversation. “I don’t have a boating license though…” the words were squeaked to herself as her eyes followed her friend’s path away.

As soon as Lil was by his side again JONAS wrapped an arm around hers, leaving her hands free to sign but making sure he didn't wander off from his lifeline again. "People have disappeared?" He was leaning in an awkward way to see what the man at the pie station was now saying.

Teagan was gone just like that, leaving FELIX standing uncertainly at the edge of the crowd. They picked up one of the sticks meant for skewering marshmallows, fiddling with it absently. Was Kaden still glaring at them? They glanced up to find him more interested in s’mores now, but the unease remained. Hesitantly, they shuffled back towards the pies, absently grabbing a slice of the chocolate peanut butter and poking at it with a fork.

MONTY frowned. "Yeah... weird creature seems about right." Unfortunately. He raised a brow at the rumor Oliver shared, then looked over as Jonas commented on it as well. "They have?" That wasn't good.

Waving at Maggie's friend as she walked away, ISA placed a hand on her friend's shoulder when she jumped, eyes moving to the man who had startled her. Her eyebrows furrowed, hand staying right on her friend even as she turned to speak with Nicole again. "You can take the marshmallow off, I don't want to touch your food in case you're not comfortable with that." She held out the stick to her so she could pluck the top one off. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Disappeared? Tell me more..." Suddenly, ELIAS wasn't nervous anymore. He had something to discover, something to get to the bottom of. "Sorry Kaden, find someone else to teach you about s'mores, I need to know about the disappearances."

LIL quietly started to sign what others were saying so Jonas could see the conversation. "Oh yeah I've heard about them. People acting strange and leaving right?" She couldn't help but think about Caleb for a moment, but that clearly hadn't been the same.

OLIVER raised his eyebrows at the sudden influx of people around him. "I, uh, I mean when it first showed up, some people went out to it, to you know, cordon it off? And they disappeared." Oliver set the piece of pie down, no longer having an appetite when being questioned. "Apparently an arm showed up? like on the beach a few days later. But uh, yeah it sounds like it's just bad news" He wasn't going to mention the supposed feathered beasts that had come out of the mouth, that seemed like it would just cause more questions.

Before KADEN could get an answer, Elias headed over to Monty and whoever it was he was chatting with. He followed to see what was so interesting. “People disappearing is hardly anything new in this town,” he said, taking a sip of his wine before reaching out to take his partner’s hand. He should probably be more concerned by all of this but it was hard to care beyond their own tragedies. Unless… it wasn’t related, was it?

Blue, seeing Felix was also now back at the pies carefully moved to lay at their feet. She remembered this one was a little intimidated by her size, but still desired attention now that Kaden had moved on. JONAS took care to watch Lil's hands as she relayed everything said. "Oh that is um... I feel sorry for their families." He knew what it was like to have your loved ones disappear suddenly with no answers. It was horrible.

NICOLE wasn't comfortable with many things, but she never worried about her food like that before. Fuck, was she supposed to? "That's— sure. I got it. Thank you..." trying not to burn her fingertips or letting the marshmallow melt, she took it off the stick and placed it on top of another cracker, then smashed the other cracker on top. In the distance, she was almost certain she spotted Langley, from animal control, and the twins from the Bread Cemetery. Was the town truly that small? She excused herself from the station, finally making her way over to her dog and the mysterious fire dancer.

Blue came over, plopping down by their feet, and FELIX sighed. There was some relief, at least, in having someone to talk to. “I don’t think you can have any pie,” they told her apologetically, bending down to scratch absently behind her ear, “but you can hang out if you want to.”

"An arm?" That sounded like harvester behavior, but... the legs and the beak didn't make much sense in connection with it. MONTY had no idea what to make of the situation, and he assumed most others didn't either. "Well... I guess there is nothing to do but sit and wait and see what happens." He squeezed Kaden's hand as the man came back to stand beside him, wondering how the town would manage if there was truly something this massive living beneath it.

LIL didn't say anything, but couldn't help but agree with Jonas, that people missing stung. Still she quietly just signed what other people were saying for a bit. "I guess so. You all should be careful though. Beaks and things are abnormal, even for here."

MAGGIE glanced around from place to place, wondering if it was considered rude to eat your own food at a party. Somewhere, on a table, sat her octopus pigs in a blanket. And it was so easy to just… go and eat a ton of those rather than panic over potentially investigating the beak in the bay… “would the beak eat a boat?” She mumbled to herself as she stood there, lost in her own little world.

ELIAS shrugged as the stranger seemed to try and shrug off the information they had, knowing that he'd have to dig into it later on his own time. A party on the beach was hardly the time to behave like a lunatic, as badly as he wanted to. His attention turned back to Felix, and frowned. He gave an apologetic smile and scooted over to them. "Which pie is your favorite?" Elias asked Felix in a quiet voice, not trying to startle the other.

OLIVER gave a small nod, "yeah, but usually they are disappearing into the forest and stuff, you know? Where like, technically anything could have made them disappear. This was slightly bigger news because of the whole...beak situation" He said, feeling his face heat up at the mention of how it must be hard on the families "Uh, yeah, it's a real unfortunate situation. But I agree with Monty, I don't think there's much we can do." He brought his solo cup up to his lips again and finished it off "Either something will happen or it'll just...disappear"

FELIX looked up as Elias approached, abandoning their one-sided conversation with Blue in favor of something a little more stimulating. (Immediately, they felt a little bad for this thought; Blue was a fine conversationalist, Felix just didn’t speak dog.) “Um, the cheeseburger pie is pretty good if you like… meat,” they said. “Or the strawberry, for something more, you know, uh, dessert.” They shifted their weight. “I’m not sure it was a good idea,” they admitted. “Me coming here, I mean. I guess I haven’t been in much of a… party state of mind.” They looked out to the sea, to the beak sticking out of the water. Was a party a good idea for any of them? “Thanks for… you know. Checking in.” Quite a few people (and dogs) had, and it was nice. It was unexpected. It was probably undeserved.

Blue looked up at Felix, whining softly in protest of no pie. She paused as a new face approached, standing to move between Elias and Felix, giving the man a once over making sure he wasn't going to scare her timid friend, but when Felix seemed to act like they knew him Blue relaxed leaning back against Felix's leg. JONAS nodded, "I um hope it disappears without a um major incident."

Keeping her eyes on Maggie for a moment, ISA took her own marshmallow from the stick and started to make her s'more. She was nibbling on it as she made her way over to a group that was talking about disappearing people, her attention caught. She quietly listed while she ate, not enjoying the fact that more and more people were disappearing lately.

“It’s always something, isn’t it?” KADEN said with a sigh. The disasters in this town almost felt never ending. He looked off in the distance at the beak, trying to make more sense of it somehow. Unsurprisingly it didn’t offer any more answers the longer he stared. “You think it’s attached to the legs?” He wondered aloud. “That would be…. Big.” Very big. Alright maybe he was a little concerned.

ELIAS smiled down at the dog and greeted her in a happy tone, but then turned his attention back to Felix, who seemed to be struggling. "You're my friend, I want to make sure my friend is doing alright." He spoke with a shrug of his shoulder. He glanced back at Blue, who seemed to have relaxed again after inspecting him. "Honestly, I'm not doing much better. Maybe we shouldn't go to parties anymore, huh?" Elias scratched his beard, lost in thought for a moment before pulling himself back to the present. Elias picked up a piece of cheeseburger pie and took a bite, pleasantly surprised. "Not bad," he murmured before taking another bite. He looked to the others talking about the beak and legs, frowning. "If it's a giant bird, I'm going to cry." Elias spoke to no one in particular. I mean, it's just a matter of time before the whole thing emerges, right?"

LIL’s hands moved a lot now trying to get everyone she could hears words. It was a little challenging but if it meant Jonas could ‘hear’ she would always do it. “I mean if it’s just a big bird we might be okay. What can a bird do really?” Her eyes looked to Blue to make sure she was okay too.

“I was hoping it would help,” FELIX admitted with a wary smile. “But… I think it was a little counterproductive.” They didn’t feel much better now than they had before the party; if anything, they thought they might have felt a little worse. Still, they thought they were glad they’d come. The only way to know was to know, right? “I hope, whatever it is, it’s… not hurt down there. You know? I hope it isn’t stuck or anything. Or… afraid.” Wouldn’t it be scary? Pieces of you sticking out from different locations, all over? Felix would hate to be in such a position. “Hey,” they turned back to Elias, “I think I’m going to, uh… sneak out. Will you make sure everybody knows they can take a pie home if they want one?”

"That was my thought," MONTY answered Kaden grimly. "I suppose we will find out." He glanced around at the people who had gathered to listen to the discussion about the missing people and the large... avian body party sprouting from the earth, feeling badly for having brought up the subject in the first place. "No sense in worrying about it if there is nothing we can do, right? Might as well enjoy what we can control." He looked to Oliver and chuckled. "Like maybe seeing if there is any tequila around here anywhere... I do not know about you, but I don't think I'm one for wine after all." He squeezed Kaden's hand again. "Sorry, love."

KADEN rolled his eyes at his partner’s mention of tequila, but there was a smile on his face. “It’s alright. More for me. You have no taste, that’s all,” he teased, laughing to himself at his own joke. “Now can someone tell me what the hell a s’more is?” He needed to know just how offended he should be by whatever abomination was made with those burnt marshmallows on sticks.

Nodding his head as Felix snuck away, ELIAS looked toward the pies, then back to everyone gathered. "Take pie home if you want pie, Felix doesn't want to take it home." He told the others before picking up a raspberry pie with a shrug. Might as well, right? He looked toward everyone, then back at the fire, then toward the beak. "Gonna head out," he said to no one in particular before waving goodbye to Kaden and Maggie, then starting his walk toward his car. Too much excitement for one evening.

JONAS looked down at his sister's hands which were moving quickly and decided she needed a break from having to translate, "Let us hope it cannot do much. Lil, how about we um go take a look at the bracelets?" Jonas was always happy to have something new to wear and maybe he could get some as a gift for others while they were there. Plus Lil wouldn't have to translate as much that far away from the crowd.

It seemed like it was a good time to get out of there. The party was fun, the people were lovely, but she wanted to get her pies and go enjoy the rest of the night with her friend. Standing, ISA waved to everyone that had gathered, throwing them all a smile, before she made her way back to Maggie at the pie station. "Alright, are we ready to do this? You're grabbing the raspberry, I'm grabbing one of those meat pies, and then we run." She might even grab two. That lemon pie was looking pretty good to her. A mischievous glint shined behind her sunglasses before she looked to her friend. "One, two, three, go!" A meat pie was in her hand and then a second later the lemon pie was in the other. "Nice meeting you guys have a good night!" She yelled over her shoulder as her and Maggie ran towards the car to head home, laughter trailing the words.

OLIVER nodded at Monty, also feeling a little bit bad about dragging everyone into a conversation when he had just been trying to talk about what he knew. Apparently, no one else read the newspaper in this town. He preferred to just think of the thing out there as just a beak, maybe connected to a little body, or a sea creature with tail or something, but he did not want to imagine it as a bird. A bird meant that it could have wings. "I think that's a great idea, Tequila sounds perfect." Oliver said, grateful for the change in subject. Tequila and S'mores sounded like a much better way to enjoy the evening.

LIL looked the commotion with the pies and laughed at the scene "Bye you two!" At the idea of her and Jonas making bracelets she chuckled not quite realizing it was for her sake. "Sure. Lets go make some. Anyone else who wants to join we're gonna go make some bracelets."

Well, Kaden was right about that, anyway. MONTY smirked, rummaging through all of the things that had been brought to the party be people he didn't know, finally finding a lone bottle of tequila. So there was a god after all. "Come on, then. Shots and s'mores it is. I will show you how to make one, Kaden, but you're not allowed to call it stupid, sí?" He looked again to Oliver, motioning for the young man (ha ha) to join them. "No more talk of beaks and bird doom tonight!"

[kookitykook]

Seven Soulmarks: Yoongi (“I’ve never actually listened to Kanye West.”)

~genre: soulmate au, fluff, sfw

~word count: 4.5k 

~warnings: none this is v cute  

~pairing: record store owner!yoongi x y/n (there are also features from a few of the other soulmates, try and spot them heh heh) 

~summary: At the exact moment of your twentieth birthday, the first words your soulmate will ever say to you appear in black ink on the inside of your left wrist. Seven boys meeting their soulmates shows once again how the universe knows exactly what it’s doing. 

See how the other boys meet their soulmates (all interconnected) 

Jungkook -- Taehyung -- Jimin -- Namjoon -- Hoseok -- Jin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Min Yoongi considered himself a simple kind of man. 

He was fortunate and grew up in a loving family, he had a few close friends that he could always depend on, and he loved music. 

Yoongi enjoyed simplicity. He didn’t mind spontaneity or partying in other people, but that lifestyle just didn’t interest him. 

For his entire life all Yoongi dreamed about was opening up his own music shop. A place where people could come and find any sort of music that touched their soul. 

That was his dream. Simple, to the point, and attainable. 

So by the time his twentieth birthday had rolled around, Yoongi had worked tons of part time and random side jobs for five years and saved every single penny, and was able to buy the space. He was still in university, still a teenager, but he’d been smart enough and worked hard enough to make wise choices to realize his dream. 

And all that hard work was finally paying off. 

“Alright Mr. Min, here are the keys,” said the realtor of the empty space that would soon be Yoongi’s store. “Congratulations on your new property!”

Yoongi thanked the realtor, walking her out to the door and seeing her out. He turned back to look at his family and friends who had joined him for the occasion. 

He held up the keys to his store and grinned. “I did it.”

His mother squealed, rushing forward and hugging him tightly around the neck. The others that had amassed followed suit, his father and brother embracing him tightly, some of his buddies from high school, and his new friend from university that was just a year younger than him that he had met at the tiny on-campus record store (she’d been buying a Jonas Brothers album and he’d only slightly been judging her). 

“I’m proud of you, son,” his father said sincerely.

“Oh my boy is so grown up,” his mother added, hugging him for what felt like the millionth time. 

Yoongi just chuckled, returning the embrace tightly. “I wouldn’t be here without you all. Thank you.” He bowed deeply. 

“It’s a big day for you Yoongs,” his university friend said as she jumped up on the counter behind her. “It’s your birthday, the day you buy your shop, and your soulmark should be appearing any second.”

Yoongi narrowed his eyes, making his friend laugh. He had been hoping to avoid the topic of his soulmark in front of his parents, something she knew quite well. He needed to keep this in mind for whenever she got her soulmark.

“Oh, yes!” his mother squealed, checking the time. “You were born around 12:14. Oh, I can’t wait to meet my boy’s soulmate.” 

Yoongi scrunched his nose as his mother pinched his cheeks. “The mark doesn’t tell me when I’m going to meet her, Eomma.”

“Yes but still!”

“It should be showing up now,” his brother remarked casually. 

“Oh, let me look!”

Yoongi just sighed as his mother took his left hand and held the inside of his wrist up to her face. She cocked her head to the side in confusion. 

“Who’s Kanye West?” she asked innocently, mispronouncing the rapper’s first name. 

Yoongi’s friends and brother burst out laughing.

“Aw Yoongs, don’t tell me you’re stealing Kim’s man!” his friend shouted, leaning against his brother as she cackled. 

“Shut up,” he muttered, pulling his hand away and looking at the mark himself. 

There is black ink was his mark, the first words his soulmate would ever say to him. 

‘I’ve actually never listened to Kanye West.’

Well. That was … surprising. 

At his friends urging, Yoongi repeated the words. 

“Who hasn’t listened to Kanye West?” his brother mused. “Seriously, does your soulmate live under a rock or something?”

“Well at least we know you two will have to work on finding common ground,” his friend cut in. 

It was well known that Yoongi’s favorite artist was Kanye. Strange that his soulmate would have never listened to him. 

Yoongi just shrugged. “That’s fine. I can introduce her to him. She can introduce me to her interests, too.”

His friends and brother ‘awwww’ed. 

“Ack, shut up.”

***

You considered yourself a simple kind of girl. 

You were raised by a single mother, but your childhood had been filled with joy. You enjoyed fashion, had a soft heart for all animals, and you loved music. 

You had only been six years old when your mother enrolled you in a piano class, and even though you cried terribly when she left you at the strange new place for an hour, by the time the first class was over you were asking if you could come back the next day. 

That was the first time you discovered that music ran through your veins. Emotions that your six-year old brain didn’t know how to process yet suddenly made more sense when you heard that emotion being played on the piano or sang in the most beautiful way. 

Music became your life, and your mother did everything in her power to give you opportunities to pursue your dream. When you entered high school you were gifted a scholarship to attend an arts conservatory, which is where your talent really started to reach new heights. 

Soon you were being scouted for various university music programs and you even received a few invitations to join symphonies around the country. 

The world was your oyster, anywhere you wanted to with the piano, you could have gone. 

But … you were a simple kind of girl. 

Sure, traveling the world and playing alongside some of the biggest names in the music world would be great, but it just wasn’t for you. 

You didn’t want to move away from your mother. You didn’t need fame or recognition. 

All you wanted was to be with those you loved, play the piano, and share your love of music with others. 

So that’s what you did. You respectfully turned down all the wonderful offers that had been sent your way, hoping and praying that the opportunities would go to people who craved and deserved them more than you. 

After graduation you enrolled in a small online university where you earned your Associate’s Degree in business relatively quickly. You moved out of your mother’s house to an apartment complex near to her, but not so near that you didn’t have that sense of independence you wanted. And you started to teach. 

You never would have guessed that teaching piano would have brought you such fulfillment, but it turned out to be one of the greatest sources of joy in your life. 

Sure, there were kids who hated the instrument and were just there because their parents made them, but there were also the children who you saw so much of yourself in. You saw the joy and the emotional realizations on their faces as they played, the excitement when the notes started to click in their minds. 

It was one of the most fulfilling aspects of your life. 

And this is what you were talking about with your closest friend/roommate on your twentieth birthday as you waited for your soulmark to appear. 

“She’s an absolute genius, I swear,” you said to your friend, who was listening with a grin. “She’s only eight years old and she’ll be able to outplay me soon.”

“Oh I doubt that.”

“No, seriously!” You took a sip of your wine, throwing your blanket over your cold feet. “She’s phenomenal. I’m helping her parents look into some scholarship for an arts school. Gah, she’s so good. But anyways, I’m sorry, I keep talking about me.”

“It’s your birthday!” your roommate argued, pouring herself another drink. “And your soulmark day for crying out loud, you’re allowed to talk about yourself.”

“Yeah but what about you?” you pushed. “How are things going at the shelter?”

Your roommate was a few years older than you and waited tables, but spent her free time volunteering at an animal shelter just down the road — that was actually where the two of you had met. 

“Really good, actually!” she said, sitting up straighter and proceeding to tell you about the shelter’s new initiative to get all of the stray cats adopted by Christmastime. 

Before you knew it, a half hour and another bottle of wine had passed and it was almost time for your soulmark to appear.

“What do you think it will say?” your roommate asked, waggling her eyebrows at you. 

You laughed, stroking the still blank skin on the inside of your left wrist. “I don’t know. As long as it’s nice, I don’t care.”

Your roommate stiffened and you immediately realized your mistake. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I — I wasn’t even thinking.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” she assured you, biting her lip as she looked down at her own wrist. 

(You hadn’t met your roommate yet when her soulmark had appeared, but the ink on her wrist read. ‘Do you have any idea who I am, you psycho?’ You had assured her that whenever she met her soulmate, the context of the situation would make the comment much less cruel, but she rarely believed you.)

“Tonight’s not about my mark,” your roommate said with a forced smile. “It’s about yours! How much time left?”

You checked your watch. “Uh, any second now actually.”

Your roommate squealed and scooted closer to you, both of you staring at your wrist as light music played in the background. 

You let out a heavy breath as black ink slowly started to appear. 

“There it is, there it is,” your roommate chanted excitedly

And sure enough, there it was. 

‘Hi, welcome to Agust D’s Records, I’m Yoongi.’

“Well then,” your roommate deadpanned. “That makes it … pretty clear.”

You stared at your wrist silently, mouth open like a fish. A dumbfounded, overwhelmed fish. 

“Yoongi,” you whispered after a few uncomfortably long, silent seconds. “His name is Yoongi.”

“Well where the hell is this Agust D’s Records place?” your roommate mused, whipping out her phone to search for the store. “We’ve got to go there ASAP.”

“This is so weird,” you murmured to yourself. “I … I don’t really know how to feel. I mean, I can find him like … anytime at all.”

“Yeah you really lucked out,” your roommate responded. “No mystery for you. And look here.” You leaned over to look at her phone. “The store is only a few miles from us. We can go see him tomorrow!”

Your heart seemed to seize in your chest.

“Or not!” your roommate said quickly upon seeing your panicked expression. “You can go see him whenever you want, it is completely up to you. If you want me to go with, I will, but I also understand if you want to go by yourself. The ball is in your court, Y/N.”

You gulped, resting your head on her shoulder. 

“Yoongi,” you repeated dumbly as your roommate stroked your hair. “His name is Yoongi.”

***

2 YEARS LATER 

“Okay I’m just saying to consider it, Yoongs.”

“Don’t call me that,” Yoongi muttered, glaring over at his best friend as he reorganized the Beatles section that a bunch of high school punks had put out of place. “Tell me again why you’re bothering me instead of doing your job that I so graciously pay you to do?”

His friend scoffed, sitting down on the ground and leaning back on her palms. “It’s a genius idea and you know it. The store is doing great, and your brother is more than ready to take over as manager here. This is the perfect time to look into opening a new branch!”

“I’m perfectly content with just one store for now. Why are you so hung up on this?”

“I just have this feeling, Yoongs,” she continued. Yoongi watched as she leaned forward, subconsciously rubbing her soulmark that she’d received only half a year ago. It wasn’t much to see, just a simple ‘No.’ “I feel like we’re meant to move into the city proper and open a new branch. I just know it.”

“Oh you do?”

“Yeah,” she retorted, passion lighting up in her eyes. “Don’t you feel like the universe is all connected sometime? Like … like we’re all causing ripples in a pond that overlap with each other exactly like we’re meant to. And I just feel it in my bones that we’re meant to expand the store! We’re not supposed to keep making our ripples here forever!”

Yoongi sighed, looking down at her with sympathy. “Look. I’ll be honest with you, your idea is a good one. But,” he said quickly when she started to beam, “I don’t think it’s the right time just yet. Let me think about it some more and look over our finances. Let’s not rush into our ripples before we’re supposed to okay?”

His friend grinned, nodding and jumping up to hug him tightly. “That was a pretty good metaphor, don’t you think?”

“No, it was stupid. Now go man the register and leave me alone.”

“Love you too, Yoongs!”

“And stop calling me that!”

Yoongi rolled his eyes as his friend disappeared around the corner of the aisle he was on. He loved that girl, but she drove him insane. He hoped his soulmate wasn’t so extra, he was pretty sure he could only handle one overly dramatic person in his life. 

It’d been just over two years since his soulmark had shown up, and he had yet to hear the words on his wrist. At first he used to try and find ways to bring up Kanye West to every customer that caught his eye, but that got exhausting and disappointing really quick. 

So he decided to just let it be. His soulmate would show up when they were supposed to. 

“Yoongs. Psst, Yoongs.”

“Did I not just tell you to go man the register?” Yoongi asked in exasperation as his friend popped her head around the corner yet again. “What is it?”

“She’s back,” she said with wide eyes. “That girl.”

“What girl?”

His friend rolled her eyes and huffed. “Don’t play dumb, you know which girl.”

Yoongi swallowed. He did know which girl she was referring to, he had known right away. 

You started coming into the shop about a year ago, and he had been struck right away. It had been a particularly rainy day, and your hair had been dripping onto your shoulders, making the green of your sweater look particularly dark. He had introduced himself to you like every other customer (albeit his voice had cracked because you were staring at him with the prettiest, widest eyes he had ever seen), but you had only nodded at him politely and skittered away to look at some of the ukuleles he had just put on display. 

 He didn’t think much of it. Maybe you were shy, or maybe you couldn’t speak. He didn’t want to make any assumptions, so he just carried on with his business and rang you up for the Demi Lovato CD you bought, giving you the usual speech on the music classes and membership opportunities the store offered. You had smiled, nodded yet again, and then went on your way silently. 

That had been a year ago, and since then you had been coming into the shop at least once a week, but nary a word had been said to him. 

It only somewhat drove him crazy. For a while he believed that perhaps you couldn’t speak, but then he heard you ask his brother a question about the piano classes that the shop offered. 

So you could speak, you just didn’t want to speak to him. Great. 

His best friend had a theory that it was because you were his soulmate, but Yoongi didn’t think that could be true even though he had never seen your mark. You had bought two Kanye West records in the last year, and when he’d asked if you enjoyed Kanye’s music you had looked up at him a little scared and nodded hurriedly before darting out of the shop. 

Still not a word though. 

It was strange, but Yoongi had decided not to dwell on it any longer. You clearly didn’t want to speak to him for some reason, but you were polite enough and always bought something from the store — whether it was a record, sheet music, a CD, or some of the local band merch that filtered through every now and then. 

You were a loyal customer, just … a quiet one. Fine by him. 

“Dude, let it go,” Yoongi muttered to his friend as she continued to stare at him like he ought to do something drastic with this information that you were once again at the store. “And leave her alone, too. She doesn’t need the likes of you bothering her to talk to me.”

“The likes of me?” his friend shouted incredulously. “Brat. Anyways, I still think you should go say hello to her. She’s always watching you when you’re not looking. And not in a stalker way, but a cute, infatuated way. Go say hi.”

“Go man the register.”

“Ugh, fine!”

He couldn’t help but chuckle as his friend left with a dramatic huff. A minute or two passed and he finally finished reorganizing the section, heading around the corner to grab a box of some new records to stock.

Then he saw you.

He couldn’t help but stop dead in his tracks. You hadn’t seem him yet, instead looking down at the new piano that had just come into the store yesterday. Your mouth was slightly open as you ran your fingertips over the keys almost … reverently. Your eyes were bright with wonder and Yoongi felt like the breath had been knocked out of him at the sight. 

It was a damn shame that he didn’t think you were his soulmate. 

He swallowed, licking his suddenly dry lips as he readied himself to speak to you. 

***

“That just came in yesterday.”

You jumped at Yoongi’s familiar voice, yanking your hand back from the keys of the absolutely stunning piano. You looked over, swallowing thickly as you took in his appearance.

He always looked good and today was of course no different. He had dyed his hair blonde a few months ago, and his roots had started to come in, but that only added to his semi-grunge look. Ripped jeans and a cuddle-worthy brown sweater donned his slim frame, and you somehow managed not to ogle him like a total creeper. 

You then remembered that he had just spoken to you in that low, smooth voice of his and was probably expecting you to respond somehow. 

You smiled at him briefly before turning back to the piano to admire it. It really was beautiful.

“It’s a Bechstein,” he continued, sounding almost … nervous? “Twelve years used, but it’s in great condition. One of our regulars had it passed down in his family and decided to let us have it for half the selling the price. It’s no Steinway, but … it’s damn nice. I almost hope nobody buys it anytime soon.”

You couldn’t help but hum in agreement, wanting to reach back out to the beautiful black and white keys but knowing that you weren’t supposed to play the instruments without express permission from the store staff.

You’d been coming to the store for a year now to shamelessly creep on your soulmate, you definitely knew the ins and outs of the store by now. 

It was getting downright ridiculous the way that you were refusing to speak to your soulmate. Your roommate was going insane about it, even more so since she met her soulmate, Taehyung. She and the famous singer had almost killed each other upon first meeting, but they were head over heels for each other soon thereafter, which meant she was insistent on you speaking to yours so you could have the same kind of relationship. 

But you were painfully afraid. Yoongi had said the words on your mark to him a year ago and you still had not said whatever words were on his wrist — words that you refused to try and get a peek of. 

“Do you play?”

It took you a minute to register that Yoongi had just asked you a question. You met his piercing eyes, almost melting at his soft smile. You swallowed and nodded. 

“I figured,” he said softly, moving slightly closer to you. You raised an eyebrow at him as if to ask ‘how?’ “The way you looked at it. Like you could already hear the notes you wanted to play.”

Your heart stuttered. 

Say something you idiot, you thought to yourself. He’s your soulmate and you’re pussyfooting around as if he isn’t. 

You opened your mouth to say something — what, you didn’t know — and Yoongi’s eyes widened. 

And nothing came out. Fear gripped your vocal cords and you huffed, turning back to the piano in frustration. What was wrong with you?

 You heard Yoongi sigh in disappointment and all you wanted to do was run out of the store. You were just about to to do that when he spoke up again. 

“Do you … want to play something?”

You looked up at him in shock. He was offering to let you play the Bechstein? There had been both a Bechstein and a Steinway for you to play on at the arts conservatory you attended as a teenager, but ever since then you hadn’t had a chance to play on anything other than your Yamaha. It was nice, but … it was no Bechstein. 

Yoongi laughed as you nodded frantically. He gestured for you to sit and you took a deep breath, steeling yourself to focus on the piano and not your soulmate watching you. 

The first touch of the keys had the rest of the world disappearing — Yoongi, the shop, your worries, everything. 

Your fingers drifted over the keys with a honed elegance that only a lifetime of practice and love for the piano could create. 

It was a piece you knew like the back of your hand — a piece you had written, actually. The notes ebbed and flowed, painting a melodious picture of your life. You played the sounds of your mother’s love and dedication for you, you played the anxieties of high school and the competitiveness of your music program, you played the joy of teaching your students, you played late nights with your roommate laughing about the most random things together, you played the feeling of Yoongi saying the words on your wrist to you, you played your fear of revealing yourself as his soulmate and facing rejection, you played your very soul. 

As the last note finally rang out, you opened your eyes, your lashes fluttering as you crashed back into reality. 

You heard a few random customers and Yoongi’s chatty employee clapping and whistling and you couldn’t help but grin and turn around, bowing your head in thanks. You turned back to look at Yoongi, only to catch sight of him staring intently at your hands that were still lingering on the piano. 

Or more specifically, staring at your left wrist. 

Somewhere in the middle of all of playing, your long sleeve had ridden up your forearm, revealing your mark. And from where he stood over you, Yoongi could see the last half of the words in black ink. 

‘ … Agust D’s Records, I’m Yoongi.’

You froze. All of the warmth that came from playing the piano before you vanished as you took in the expression of complete and utter shock on Yoongi’s face. 

“That’s …” he mumbled, blinking rapidly. “That’s my name.”

You weren’t sure you were breathing. He finally looked up, meeting your eyes.

“Am I …” he trailed off, staring at you like it was the first time he’d ever seen you. Between your performance that had felt like it was literally tugging on his soul, to now knowing that you actually were his soulmate after all … “Am I your—”

“I’ve actually never listened to Kanye West,” you blurted out so quickly all the words slurred together. 

Once those words were out, it was like a dam had broken. 

“I got my mark just over a year ago,” you continued, the word vomit spilling out of you. “It told me where you worked and your name a-and I was so scared at first but then I told myself it would be fine so I came to meet you, but then I saw you and I — I completely panicked. I froze up, I was afraid you would reject me o-or something and so I just didn’t say anything. But then I couldn’t stay away and so I just kept coming back, but then I dug myself into too deep of a hole and didn’t know how to bring up the fact that ‘hey, surprise, I’m your soulmate and I’ve been semi-stalking you for a while?’ Not that I actually have! I swear, the only time I see you is here in the store.”

You stood up them, fidgeting with your fingers as Yoongi continued to stare at you in silence. 

“But I had to have some sort of reason to keep coming back, because I just felt wrong when I stayed away, so I would come in and buy something. And I saw that on the ‘staff recommended’ shelf there was always some Kanye West album and truthfully, I’m not that into rap music but I figured I would try since you seem to like him, but I never got around to it even though I bought like three of his albums. And I know you probably think I’m completely deranged and you’re probably right, but I just — I get really nervous, you know? And you’re so nice and yet we seem really different, so I was afraid that you—”

“Stop.”

You froze, your mouth open as Yoongi cut you off quietly, holding his hand up. 

Here it comes, you thought to yourself. He’s going to tell me I’m completely insane and to get the hell out of his store. Well, it’s been a good run I guess. 

But Yoongi didn’t do that at all. 

Instead, he took three calculated, slow steps forward until he was right in front of you, almost chest-to-chest. You held your breath, unable to look away from his eyes. 

He raised his hands, placing his palms on your cheeks. 

“Your voice,” he murmured, “is beautiful.”

Oh. 

“I … I’m sorry it took me so long to say something,” you stammered out softly, feeling a whole new spectrum of emotions as he looked deep into your eyes. 

Yoongi smiled then, a gummy, broad smile that knocked the breath right out of your chest. 

“Don’t be. Our ripples crossed right when they needed to.”

You blinked, hands reaching out to rest on his chest. “I’ll be honest, I … don’t really understand that metaphor.”

“I’ll explain it later. I know we just officially found each other, but can I kiss you? Please?”

You smiled broadly, and it didn’t bother Yoongi at all that you nodded instead of speaking. 

[drizzitwrites]

Football RPF Challenge - Day 6: A Night Out With Friends

NGL friends, I almost didn’t do this one.

For starters, I spent all day in a place where I couldn’t really focus on anything for a variety of reasons, so the idea of sitting down and writing anything seemed almost impossible. Second, I didn’t really have a solid idea for a scene to work on for this prompt in my head, which meant that I didn’t have a plan, and I absolutely cannot write without some kind of plan. I realise the point of what I’m trying to do here with these exercises is to just write and not care about it, and I used to be able to do that, but I think I’ve evolved as a writer to a place where that’s just not who I am anymore (for better or worse, I suppose). So then it got to a point of me thinking about how to start and realising that if I didn’t know where the scene was supposed to end or who was involved or why they were all out, I’d just spend a lot of time writing a really boring conversation that wouldn’t get anyone anywhere.

The thing of today’s prompt, also, is that it encapsulates some of the things I’m the WORST at: ensemble conversation, ambiance, scene and sensory cues, probably food. So you get this combination of distracted, no plan, and things I’m bad at and I honestly took the bit of writing time I did have and said you know what, no. I don’t feel like doing today’s challenge and I don’t have an idea for it anyway so I just won’t do it, because this is a hobby and it’s supposed to be fun and no one is making me do this but me.

BUT! I also recognised that BECAUSE this is hard and BECAUSE I don’t want to and BECAUSE I don’t know how to do it, that is precisely why I *needed* to do it. Because I’m not a quitter. Or, maybe, because once I let myself quit one time, it becomes infinitely harder to NOT let myself quit the next time, or the time after that, or the time after that.

For my whole life, I’ve gotten to where I am by saying “if something seems hard, that’s precisely the time you need to do it the most”

This may seem harsh and it’s certainly not advice I’d recommend for everyone, but it’s the way I’ve always done things. Because at least, even if it didn’t go well or it WAS hard or whatever...I TRIED, and I’d always have that. It’s hard to explain, I guess.

Anyway, what got me over the hump of having decided I was just going to not do it was saying to Jonas “I feel like all of a sudden I’m a person who gives myself permission to say ‘that’s too hard’, and I don’t know if that’s the person I want to be, because I’ve never been that person before so do I want to start now?��

And I realised, I didn’t. Because my stubborn willingness to WORK HARDER WHEN THE WORK GETS HARDER is the one thing I’ve always been proud of.

Like...this is a CHALLENGE. It’s supposed to be CHALLENGING. And if on day 6 I say “eh, I don’t feel like it” then what’s going to force me to rise to the occasion on day 7 or 10 or 18 or 29? NOTHING.

(and really, the scene I ended up writing is from a fic inspired by a song that expresses the exact sentiment I needed...”If we don’t do this today/ there goes a day/ another moment that could have been ours/ figure it out/ that’s what I do...”)

So I made myself do it. And, friends, it turned out pretty well.

The continuation of the restaurant scene from days 2 and 3 (presuming I have fixed the ending from day 3 and Christian is actually AT the restaurant when Vincent arrives). It’s not the full scene, but I took an hour and a quarter and put together 1100 words. And most importantly...I DID NOT GIVE UP.

"Christian," Vincent said, sliding into the empty chair to Christian's right--the only empty seat at the table, of course, because what other kind of luck would Vincent had.

He wanted to say that if he'd known Christian would be here he would have begged off in favour of spending a night in his hotel catching up from the whirlwind of the day and trying to figure out where he was supposed to be tomorrow and when and exactly how everything was supposed to work, but he honestly couldn't convince himself that was true.

Sure, it was what he <em>should</em> have done, but if he'd spent his life doing what he should do he never would have let himself develop this big of a celebrity crush on an Ajax player in the first place.

Blue green eyes flicked upward to meet his for the briefest of moments before Christian turned back towards his friends. The three of them had all crowded around the far side of their small table. It was clearly meant for four, but the others had all wedged themselves in, Jan in the centre directly across from Christian, with Mousa to his right and Toby to his left.

Jan returned Christian's look with a wide grin.

"Oh, Chris, Did I forget to mention that we invited Vincent to join us? We thought since he'd just arrived in town this morning we'd take him out and save him from an evening of sitting around a hotel room." With that, he turned to Vincent. "Welcome, Vincent. I'm glad you could make it."

He spoke in Dutch, Pochettino's rules about everyone speaking English evidently not extending off the training ground. Either that, or he was doing it for Vincent's benefit, which Vincent honestly appreciated. He knew English, of course, but he had a feeling that getting through an entire dinner while pressed up between a pillar to his right and Christian Eriksen to his left was going to be difficult enough without trying to figure out how to express himself in a second language.

"Yes," Vincent said, settling down into his seat a bit. "As I said, it was a bit confusing, and there was quite a lot of traffic, but, I made it."

Beside him, Christian made a sort of low snorting noise. "It's a Tuesday in mid-July. If you think that was quite a bit of traffic just wait until Friday night when everyone's back from their holidays."

Toby shook his head and gave Christian an eyeroll. "We all know, Christiaan. If you had your way you'd never leave your house again. I swear, if he could, this one would still cycle to training like we did back in Amsterdam."

"He'd have to move if he wanted to do that," Mousa said, and the others laughed.

"Flikker op," Christian said, flashing them a rude gesture. "The lot of you."

Vincent looked around the table at his new teammates, all of them leaned back and relaxed and so casual around one another, save Christian who was perched at the edge of his seat, leaning to his left and slightly away from Vincent. He seemed a bit on edge, but considering Vincent had spoken to him for five minutes who was he to say. That might just be Christian's mannerism.

Or, he thought. Five minutes of awkward conversation where you held his hand and gazed into his eyes was enough to put him off the entire idea of getting any closer to you than he should. Not that Vincent could blame Christian for that. It hadn't exactly been an auspicious first meeting.

Nothing for it, though, he supposed. What was done was done, and all he could do now was get his mind and body under control and show up for work like the professional he was. This wasn't some starry-eyed kid from Jong Feyenoord out to dinner with the rockstars of the Eredivisie, this was Tottenham Hotspur's newest summer signing out on the town with his teammates.

"Where...do you all live?" Vincent asked. "It's not that I mean to pry it's just...well, I'll have to find a flat or something sooner or later, right. I can't live in a hotel forever. So..."

"Ahh," Jan said. "Recommendations. Yes. It depends on what you're looking for, of course. And the team will help. We have people on staff for that--ask them for anything. They'll get you a car and look for houses for you or furniture or whatever you need, really."

"Yes, of course," Vincent said. AZ had a player services manager who'd handled most of these things, so he'd assumed Spurs would have the same. "But I wonder...are there better areas to live than others."

"Of course," Toby said with a shrug. "London is enormous, so, of course some parts are better. As Jan said, it's all about what you want."

"Hmm," Vincent said.

In truth, he wasn't exactly sure what he wanted. He didn't much relish the idea of spending every day in as much traffic as he'd faced on his way here, so wherever this neighbourhood was, he thought he'd probably rule it out. At AZ he'd lived nearly 30km from Alkmaar, but the trip had been easy. Here, it didn't much seem that way.

"If you want to avoid traffic," came a soft voice from beside him. Christian, his eyes turned downward towards the table as he picked at the hem of his plain white t-shirt. "You'll want to live in the Northeast. Enfield or Barnet. I wouldn't go much below the north circular."

"Oh." Vincent had no idea what any of that meant, but he imagined it would make sense to whomever he was speaking to at the club about finding a place to live. "Is that..."

He stopped himself short, unsure of his intentions for asking the question that came to mind. It was innocent enough, really--a teammate wanting to learn more about the rest of his teammates and his new city. No one could fault him for it.

Christian stared over at him, blue-green of his eyes now bright under the sharp lighting of the restaurant, and Vincent's whole body shuddered and trembled.

He took a breath, held it, and forced himself to continue. Christian was his teammate. Starting tomorrow they'd have to share a training pitch, so Vincent had better at least figure out how to navigate a simple question over dinner.

"Is that where you live?" he asked. "Northeast? Where did you say? Barrett?"

"Barnet," Christian said, voice matter-of-fact as he turned away from Vincent and moved to staring intently at the small slip of paper that displayed the menu. "No."

[summerfitzy]

courting miss sætre (3/6)

Fandom: SKAM Ship: Noora x William Summary: Miss Noora Sætre has ambitions of spinsterhood; Mr. William Magnusson has other ideas.

(The wildly anachronistic regency era au that literally no one asked for)

ao3

Norman Ames’s first novel had entranced London from its first sentence to its last period. The thick volume sat in every bookstore, every household, and on most every bedside table for months. It dominated drawing room conversation and literary debates. It shocked and offended and awed and addicted and, most of all, intrigued.

Everyone knew that Norman Ames was a pseudonym. Everyone believed they knew why too. Cecilia was, by every measure, a scandal clad in print; a chronicle of every topic scorned by polite conversation and feasted upon by closed-door-gossip. Ames had woven a common enough story, the ruin of an innocent girl—yet in a way that sympathized with her even in her worst moments.

Unheard of. Enthralling. Even readers who went red in the face over the book’s politics and societal censure could not put it down from cover page to back cover. Those readers might have keeled over altogether had they discovered that the most shocking, most popular novel of the year had been written by a young, single woman.

(No one could ever discover that. No one would ever believe that a young, single woman could write such a convincing picture of sexual awakening and social ruin without having experienced it for herself.)

It pained Noora, on a visceral level, to write under a man’s name—but she needed the book to sell as well as literarily possible, and she wished to remain relatively unknown. The fact that Mr. Vasquez had lent his publishing connections to her, that Eva had convinced him to act as a go-between, came as nothing short of a miracle.

And Noora was not in the habit of taking miracles for granted—certainly not the money she had made through her writing. The ability to support herself without her parents, without a husband, had always sounded like a pretty, Christmas Eve dream. The kind that crept behind a child’s eyes before she hurried down the stairs the next day, only to discover a pile of impersonal presents.

No matter how many book payments she opened, Noora would never lose the thrill of unwrapping something she truly wanted.

A candle burned in the corner as Noora kept scribbling and scribbling, late into the night. She could not know that her second novel would do quite as well… only that it would stir just as much controversy. Especially in London. Her first book had picked at the mores of country life; this one would illuminate the unfairness of the Season for its debutantes.

The last several weeks had provided plenty of fodder. The last day had provided even more.

(Noora wondered if a character named William would fool anyone.)

Over the next week, Noora suffered several more invitations to dance from William Magnusson. The usual interaction went something like so:

“Shall we dance a waltz?”

“I’ve hurt my foot.”

A glance at her dance card. “You’re dancing the sets before and after.”

A shrug.

She received several more calls from him too. Noora refused them all. His cards sat beside her manuscript, tucked away out of sight—along with the messages he left scrawled on them.

Words no one else should see.

You were the prettiest girl in the room last night and What do I have to do to convince you to dance with me? and Bloody hell, you’re so beautiful.

As for the most hidden, the most secret, the most worrisome of them all: You had ink on your hands the other day. No shock that you’re a bluestocking.

Comments about her beauty—Noora had grown used to those, vain as she felt admitting it. Maybe her heart sped, on occasion, at the proof that William Magnusson thought her so pretty, but reality always slowed it soon enough. He thought she was pretty because she kept evading him. Because she was a novelty who did not care about marrying him.

Observations about her ink-stained hand—she could not trust him with those.

Noora had to remember that he thought her a pretty, diverting game. Nothing more.

(The novel was almost finished. She would not rewrite hundreds of pages to weave in a character named William. She would not.)

(She didn’t. She named him Willhelm.)

Though Mr. Magnusson kept creeping into Noora’s writing and head and sights, she could not forget that Mr. Schistad deserved her fuller attention. William had not actually done anything to her, other than heat her blood like a raging teakettle.

Christoffer Schistad, however, persisted in doing plenty—namely, flirting with Eva at every possible opening. Noora did not know what to make of the fact that Eva persisted in letting him, in smiling at him like she wanted him to carry on.

So, when Noora sought William Magnusson out again, she only did so for Eva’s sake.

“Miss Noora Amalie Sætre,” he said through a smile when he saw her. “Have you changed your mind about our dance?”

Noora crossed her arms. Her full name seemed to have become a loophole for him, a way of uttering her Christian name without propriety’s—or her—permission.

(Arrogant cad.)

“Have you changed your mind about speaking to Mr. Schistad?”

William’s eyes rolled up towards the ceiling before sliding back down to meet hers. “He’s my friend, not my servant. I appreciate your confidence in my authority, but it doesn’t extend to him.” A beat. “Or to you, apparently.”

“So you’re not going to do anything,” Noora summarized.

Ballroom chatter buzzed behind and around them. Footsteps too. So many reminders that they had a swarm of people surrounding them—and yet Noora could only register William’s voice, kept low so as to elude any ears save their own. “I didn’t say that.”

“So you will do something?”

“I didn’t say that either.”

Noora was half-tempted to drop her arms, just for the satisfaction of crossing them again. “What do you want?” she asked, forced herself to ask, finally.

He stared at her.

There was blushing, there was ‘flying one’s colors,’ and then there was the pink heating her cheeks at present.

“If I speak to Chris again,” he said, “we will take that stroll through Hyde Park together.”

Noora bit her lip.

“And,” he added, “you will stop ‘hurting your foot’ every time I ask you to dance.”

He sounded so exasperated there that Noora had to bite down on her lip even harder, just to stab her smile away. “Perhaps I’m injury prone.”

“The first dance of the night.” His mouth curved too. “Do we have a deal, Miss Sætre?”

Noora let her lower lip, pinched thoroughly colorless now, slip free from her teeth. She glanced over to the other side of the room—and saw Christoffer Schistad standing considerably too close to Eva as he smirked something too close to her ear. As she laughed back.

She shifted her glance slightly. As Jonas Vasquez stood by the room’s threshold, squinting at them.

“Yes,” she said, sighed. “We have a deal.”

(She no longer had to wonder what William Magnusson’s grin looked like.) 

Hyde Park offered a good deal of loveliness in early summer. So much green beneath them in the grass, blue above them in the sky, blue beyond them in the water. Cheery flowers and leafy trees swaying around them in the soft breeze.

Noora had crossed her arms the minute she’d first begun to enjoy the weather, and hadn’t uncrossed them yet. Of course Mr. Magnusson would choose a pleasant day for their stroll—a day when half the ton would be out strolling too, taking note of the title-less, connection-less, wealth-less girl with whom he had chosen to spend his afternoon.

At least he had brought one of his more matronly maids to chaperone, albeit from a few steps behind them.

“My grandmother used to take me here,” William said, interrupting the nature-chirped quiet that had settled between them, “when I was younger.” He pointed to the wavering shallows of the Serpentine River. “She told me that the river had sea monsters lurking beneath the surface so that I’d stop trying to swim in it.” A beat, a crook of his lips. “I was terrified.”

Noora said nothing, gave him nothing. She hadn’t promised him her conversation, only her presence.

“I think she felt guilty eventually,” he went on, “because she told me later that there were beautiful things too. Mermaids, naiads—water nymphs.”

“I know what naiads are,” she interrupted, then pressed her lips together. As though it mattered whether or not he thought her intelligent.

His lips crooked even more curved. “Of course.”

As though he knew anything about her. “Do you think this will charm me?”

He blinked. “This?”

“This,” she repeated, waving a hand through the air. “Your childhood story about your grandmother, the sunny day in the park. Do you think we’re in a Jane Austen novel?”

“Jane Austen writes romances,” he said. “Do you think we are?”

Noora considered looking up at the sun, just to blind herself to his blatant amusement, but settled for tilting her eyes to the top of an unusually tall tree instead. “No.” A pause. “And her books aren’t only romances. She writes social critiques.”

“Like you do.”

Her breath, her composure, her feet—they all stumbled at once. Noora might have stumbled right over the utterly flat, utterly groomed ground, had William not darted a hand out to steady her. His arms anchored her waist for a slip of a second—long enough for her to feel how unexpectedly strong, unexpectedly hard they were, even through the sleeves of his tailcoat.

“I’m assuming,” he amended. He dropped his arms and palms from her muslin.

(The solid warmth of both still haunted her abdomen.)

“Why?” she did her best to reestablish her footing and her voice. “Because I happened to have ink stained hands one afternoon?”

William pointed to her gown’s grass-stained hem with his eyes.

Noora bit back a sigh. Fine. So perhaps she had not reacted with the utmost subtlety. “There was a branch. And I was writing a letter to a friend before you called. One of the women you’ve used.”

When he squinted at her, she knew it had nothing to do with the beaming sun.

“Miss Vilde Lien? You made her think you were going to offer for her.”

He ducked beneath a crooked tree branch. “How did I do that?”

"You—you danced with her. And flirted with her. You made her think that you liked her.”

Daylight seemed to glint from William’s eyes when he caught hers. “Is it my fault if a person can’t tell the difference between politeness and interest?”

She couldn’t understand how he’d made it so challenging to look away from him, to retort, to believe her own words when she spoke next. “You could have been polite without leading her on.” But Noora had spent the beginning of the Season bemoaning the fact that Vilde could not read Mr. Magnusson’s obvious lack of intentions towards her. He had a point.

“Miss Lien seems fine now.”

He had a point there too. Noora kept silent rather than admit so aloud.

“Is that all you write?” William asked, once it became clear that Noora did not mean to say anything more. “Letters to Miss Lien?” At some point, they had ambled over to the shore of the river. At another point, they seemed to have stopped there.

Noora wished a hard breeze would push him in. “Why do you care?”

A family of ducks waddled and quacked behind him, oblivious to the tension ironing the air above them. “How else will we get to know each other?”

“You don’t care about getting to know me.” He wanted her admiration, because he could not conceive of a woman’s indifference to him. That was all.

But he did not so much as pause before replying, “Yes, I do.” He did not smirk either. His face did not move at all, but remained as still as the rest of his body, exhaling an emotion that Noora refused to call earnestness.

She swallowed. “Tell me something about yourself then,” she said, then told herself she’d only opened her mouth to crack the intensity of his regard. “Something real.”

That startled him out of his stillness. He deliberated for a moment, before raising one hand into her view and pulling off its leather glove with the other. Ink-stains smudged his fingers.

She’d assumed he would say something cocky, something cliché, something she could scorn him for. “You write?” Noora hated that he’d surprised her.

A small smirk. “You know I write.”

“You did not stain your fingers like that leaving calling cards for me.”

He shrugged, running a hand through his hair. “Why should I tell you what I write, if you won’t tell me?”

Because ‘unfulfilled curiosity’ and ‘withheld knowledge’ swished like wine in Noora’s mouth—which might have sounded like a compliment, if one were unaware of Noora’s inability to handle even a glass of elder wine. “Is it love poetry?” she asked, a twinge of humor sneaking onto her tongue despite her best efforts at swallowing it. “Is that why you’re so popular?”

He shook his head and his smile down at the ground. “I don’t write love poetry.”

“Love songs then?”

His eyes rose back to hers. Definitely smiling. “Would you like me to write you a love song, Miss Sætre?”

“No.” And then, because she couldn’t push the banter back down her throat: “I enjoy music too much.”

Laughter wrote itself onto the lines of William’s face, but didn’t leak from his mouth. “Would you like me to dedicate a travel journal to you?”

If they were still walking, surprise might have stolen her footing again. “A travel journal?”

“Yes.” Once she gave him her attention and her gaze, he refused to surrender either. “I spent the last year touring the Continent. That’s what I write about.”

She shouldn’t have asked. She shouldn’t have pushed. She really, really shouldn’t have, because Noora had several travel books on her shelves, all creased of spine, and would give anything to go to the places between their covers. “The whole Continent?”

“Let me tell you over a waltz some night.” A pause. “Your turn, Miss Sætre.”

And even though she shouldn’t give him the satisfaction or the advantage of a reply, of a single thought from her head… “I like drinking chocolate. More than tea or lemonade or champagne or any other drink.”

“Drinking chocolate,” he echoed.

“Especially once it’s gone cold.” The sleeves of her dress sighed against her shoulder blades when she shrugged. “Two facts about me.”

William remained motionless. He stood there, staring at her rather than out at the water, as the sun caught the gold in his dark locks and the smile flickering on his lips. His flickered grin.

For that breath of seamless, cloudless sunlight, Noora could not help but smile back.

[justrandomimagines-blog]

REASONS TO STAY

GIF BY @/emreturkmen

REQUEST:  Hey! I was wondering if you can write an imagine where Y/n is Even's younger sister and Isak and the boys meet her while staying at Even's. Jonas ends up liking her but he's hesitant to ask her out bc she's younger than him but she says yes and Even approves.

REQUESTED BY: anonymus

PARING: Jonas Noah Vasquez x reader

WARNINGS: none

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even’s birthday was one of the few occasions she had to see his older brother, so y/n wouldn’t have missed it, that’s was a fact. Even’s flat was a mess, as always: when y/n entered in the room she smiled shaking her head while hihers brother was helping her with the luggage.

-- What?

He asked with that smile that never failed to make her smile back.

-- I see you are still the messiest person in the world.

She joked and he shrugged. Y/n loved Even more that how she loved anyone else; she always protected him, since they were kids. Even’s bipolarity made him unpredictable, but she had one certainty: he loved her back in the same way.

-- So, I can’t wait to meet Isak!

She said while sitting on the couch, her brother joined her and blushed.

-- He’s amazing, you will adore him.

He said and she looked at him: his eyes were shining and he seemed happy, happy in a way he hadn’t been for years.

-- If he can make you feel so well, there is no chance I won’t like him.

She said and Even hugged her. She always felt safe in his big brother’s arms, he was her rock.

-- So, are you planning to stay here in Oslo?

He asked her and she sighed. She had been living and studying in London for the past 4 years, but she wanted to come back in Oslo for the senior year.

-- I don’t know..

She said. She was in conflict: she wanted to be with Evan and the rest of the family, but she also wanted to be with her British friends.

-- You can live here, with me.

He proposed and a smile appeared on her face.

-- Really?

He asked looking at her brother, he smiled back and took her hand.

-- If you decide to stay, I want you here. I have a guest room, you have to be with me.

He said and she hugged him. She missed him every second, maybe she had to stay. Before they could say something else, the doorbell rang.

-- Here they are!

Said Even and stood up in a second. She stood up too and moved her hair from her face. Even had been talking about Isak for months by now, she knew a lot about him: he was an amazing kisser, he just graduated, he was an amazing kisser, he loved music, he was caring and sweet, he was an amazing kisser… When Even opened the door, Isak gave him a quick kiss and then, they both turned toward her.

-- Isak, this is my sister. Y/n, meet my boyfriend.

Evan said and y/n thought that there was so much enthusiasm in his voice that his vocal cords were going to explode.

-- It’s a pleasure, Isak.

She said shaking his hand, he smiled.

-- To me too, Even always talks about his little sis.

He said and she smiled.

-- Don’t worry, he finds time to talk about you too.

She joked and they both laughed. Y/n didn’t even notice that Isak was not alone: standing on the door there was another boy. When y/n saw him, he smiled and took a step closer.

-- Jonas!

Said Even giving him a pat on the back.

-- Jonas, this is y/n.

Even introduced her and the boy shook her hand.

-- My pleasure.

Jonas said and looked at her. She had to admit that he was handsome, with that shining eyes and his big smile. Jonas was totally enchanted: she was absolutely beautiful.

-- So, you do not live here?

Isak asked while they all sat around the table; Even was making coffee.

-- No, I live in London..

-- Not for long!

Even screamed while putting some donuts on a plate and y/n laughed.

-- Really?

Jonas asked looking at her and she blushed. He had an incredible impact on her, she felt naked when his eyes scanned her.

-- I don’t know, maybe I’ll move here for the next year. I’d like to spend my last high school year in Oslo. I will spend the summer here, then I’ll decide.

She explained and he nodded.

-- You should, so you could be closer to Even.

Jonas said and she smiled looking at him.

-- Yes, I should.

She said and, before he could say anything else, Even arrived with coffee and donuts. Jonas was funny, and smart, and sassy. She adored talking to him, he knew what to say to keep her interested and make her feel involved and he knew how to flirt. Y/n had no idea if Even noticed something, but she definitely was flirting back.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- So, she’s funny, eh?

Isak asked while they were walking home, Jonas shrugged.

-- Yes, she is.

He answered and his best friend laughed.

-- Please, don’t dissimulate. I know you like her.

He teased him and he puffed, but he was blushing.

-- Maybe a little.

He admitted and Isak gave him a pat on his shoulder.

-- I know you too well. Ask her out.

He suggested and Jonas bit his lower lip.

-- I don’t know, she’s younger, she’s living in London, then she is Even’s little sister..

He started to overthink, but Isak stopped him.

-- Bro, stop this shit. You like her, ask her out, but talk to Even first.

He said and Jonas smiled.

-- Okay, I’ll do it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Even, can we talk?

Jonas was standing on the door, his hands tormenting his phone while he was looking at Even. He nodded and smiled.

-- Sure, come in!

He invited him and he took a step forward, closing the door while he looked around.

-- Is y/n home?

He asked and Even nodded while drinking a cup of tea.

-- In her room.

He said and pointed the guests’ room. Jonas summed up the courage.

-- Okay, I’ll go straight to the point: I want to ask her out.

He said and Even appeared totally impassive. In response, he kept drinking his tea.

-- I know.

He said and Jonas puffed lifting his eyebrows.

-- I’ll kill Isak..

-- Oh please, you and my sister were flirting so much yesterday that only a blind person wouldn’t have noticed that there is chemistry. Plus, Isak confirmed my theory.

He said and his laugh was so genuine that Jonas couldn’t help but laugh too.

-- So, are you cool with this?

He asked and he shrugged and smiled.

-- Sure. Make her suffer and I’ll kill you.

He said, his voice suddenly serious and a scowl appearing on his face. Jonas nodded and lifted his arms in sign of peace.

-- I won’t.

He promised and Even relaxed.

-- Then, what are you waiting for?

He asked looking at her door, then at him. He nodded, took a deep breath and knocked at her door.

-- Come in!

Her voice answered through the door. He opened it and entered. Y/n was lying on her bed; the book she was reading was opened on the bed and she was totally immersed in the plot.

-- Y/n?

Jonas called her and she almost jumped out of her skin.

-- Jonas!

She said and closed the book, she sat and he did the same.

-- Even let me in.

He said and she nodded; she started to torment her hands, she was irrationally nervous, because she perceived that something was about to happen.

-- So, do you miss London?

He asked and she shrugged.

-- Of course, but you know, I also miss Oslo when I’m there. It’s a mess.

She laughed and he felt a rush of adrenaline: he liked her so much. Y/n’s smile was warm and pure, it involved also her big y/c/e.

-- So, will you stay?

He asked, the hope making his voice a little bit more intrusive than how he wanted it to be.

-- Probably, I can’t say no to Even, and I miss him too much.

She said and he smiled. She looked at him and felt the necessity to touch him, but she repressed that feeling.

-- So, why are you here?

She gently asked, there was no acidity in her question, just curiosity.

-- Actually, I wanted to ask you something..

He said and blushed, she nodded and stayed quiet. He seemed to be in conflict with himself..

-- Well, I don’t know if you, I mean… I just, uhm..

Y/n smiled at his clumsiness, she found him absolutely adorable. Of course, Isak and Even had no secrets, so it hadn’t been complicated for Y/n to find out that Jonas wanted to ask her out.

-- Okay, let me start again..

-- Jonas, yes, I’ll go out with you.

She said making the things so much easier. A series of emotions crossed his face, then he just shook his head and smiled.

-- Isak?

He asked and she smiled back.

-- Don’t be mad at him, I can be very persuasive with my brother.

She said and he smiled and bit his lower lip.

-- So, we have a date.

He said brushing her hair behind her ear, she smiled and looked at him.

-- It seems so.

She said and, before she could add something else, he kissed her. The kiss was insanely sweet; she didn’t expect he to be so delicate, so gentle. He caressed her check and passed his tongue on her lips, she opened them to let his tongue in and rushed her fingers through his hair. Jonas was patient and his touch was perfect, she knew how to caress her. She smiled on his lips and bit his lower lip, then gently interrupted the kiss.

-- So, it seems I have another reason to stay in Oslo.

She said and he smiled while he was still caressing her check. He gave her another quick kiss on her soft lips, then he answered.

-- It seems so.

[caveartfair]

Learn to Cook with John Cage, Marilyn Minter, and Louise Bourgeois

Starving Artists banquet in Italy, hosted by Paul Lamarre and Melissa Wolf. Courtesy of Arthur Fournier.

Thanks to two intrepid documentarians, you can watch John Cage demonstrating his method for making Soup Des Jours, a hearty concoction that he kept simmering on the stove, sometimes for weeks, adding new ingredients each day; Jonas Mekas making potato pancakes and discussing the depredations of a refugee camp after World War II; and Louise Bourgeois carving oxtails with a band-saw, stacking the finished meat in a pile resembling one of her sculptures.

These and other artistic kitchen moments are compiled in FOOD SEX ART | The Starving Artists' Cookbook—10 hours of video interviews, captured by Paul Lamarre and Melissa Wolf between 1986 and 1991. They broke bread with over 160 artists, talking about food, art, and life as they prepare their favorite cheap eats.

“Beans and onions. Big red kidney beans, right out of the can, fried in olive oil, with a little cumin and lots of onions…” Paul Lamarre wistfully recalls the staple diet of his lean years, as he sips red wine this September at the comparatively posh Marlow and Son’s restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “We ate a lot of beans and onions,” Melissa Wolf adds, deftly carving an order of chicken with roasted peppers and harissa to share with her partner and collaborator of 36 years.

Lamarre, a performance artist, and Wolf, a videographer, are an artistic duo who call themselves EIDIA House, which stands for “Everything I Do Is Art” or “Every Individual Does Individual Art,” among other interpretations. They were living in the Chelsea Hotel in the early 1980s, eating that scrappy fare and filming a video narrative about the many artists who lived there. “I was getting tired of beans and onions,” Paul remembers, “and I began to wonder what other starving artists were eating. That was how it started.”

“We were already making video portraits of artists, and we thought it would be great to document artists as they were cooking, instead of just talking about art,” says Melissa. “They’d be more relaxed, and cooking is something anybody watching can relate to. You don’t have to be an art connoisseur.”

Today, the videos are housed in the collections of more than 40 major museums and libraries worldwide. The videos were originally screened at Anthology Film Archives and released as a six-volume series in 1991. EIDIA House also published a limited-edition book, with a cover designed by Lamarre, showcasing “Pravda Burger,” an absurdist treat by Russian émigrés Komar & Melamid. The concoction was made from shredded pages of the Russian newspaper mashed in a blender, shaped into patties and fried in a pan with butter “until done.”

FOOD SEX ART | Starving Artists' Cookbook cover. Courtesy of Arthur Fournier.

The tasty documentation of the vibrant New York City art scene in the mid-1980s, features a cast of luminaries, including Cage, Bourgeois, Mekas, Hannah Wilke, Carolee Schneemann, Gracie Mansion, and Taylor Mead. The full 10 hours of videos are being screened again during Printed Matter’s 2017 New York Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1, September 21–24, as part of the first comprehensive exhibition of archival materials from the project.

Presented by rare book dealer and archivist Arthur Fournier, the pop-up show includes 25 original artworks from the likes of Marilyn Minter and Peter Beard, as well as correspondence with contributors, and handwritten recipes. Mostly the recipes were edible but some, like William Wegman’s “Popped Vitamin C”—Vitamin C capsules heated in a lightly oiled pan until they pop—were strictly conceptual.

The cooking skills of the contributors varied greatly. Betty Tompkins served fried spaghetti, while her husband Bill Mutter prepared jumbo shrimp with a Thai sweet and sour dipping sauce.

Some, like art critic Anthony Haden-Guest, didn’t cook at all. “Instead of just boiling an egg, I said I’d mix a drink,” he tells me. “We went to the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar, and one of the girls took off her halter top and blindfolded me. I picked three bottles at random and made this thing called a ‘Sucker Punch.’ I think it was a combination of cheap wine, vodka, and Bailey’s Irish Cream. It looked like cat vomit, and tasted nearly as bad.”

Jonas Mekas, Untitled, n.d. [1989.] Courtesy of Arthur Fournier.

Portrait of Melissa Wolf and Paul Lamarre. Courtesy of Arthur Fournier.

As a precaution for such scenarios, Paul and Melissa made it a rule to eat before they went on a shoot. “We had good appetites,” says Paul. “If it turned out to be something good, we could always eat again.”

With hundreds of artists participating, The Starving Artist Cookbook had built-in, word-of-mouth publicity. The whimsical, engaging vignettes were a downtown sensation. By the spring of 1987, Paul and Melissa were art celebrities being feted in the Michael Todd Room of the Palladium at a star-studded party attended by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Keith Haring. As befits art royalty, Paul and Melissa also hosted a number of memorable EIDIA House banquets accompanying their own gallery shows. Guests at a dinner during a 1989 show at the Barbara Braathen Gallery were treated to a Medieval banquet of roasted goat; they ate with their hands, sitting at a long wooden table that Paul had built especially for the occasion.

“It was great fun,” Paul reflects. “But art stars have a short half-life in New York. The scene changes so quickly here.”

After our dinner in Williamsburg, we return to EIDIA House, the duo’s basement studio a few blocks away, a place they’ve had since 1981. Paul’s handmade banquet table is leaning against a wall lined with shelves of books and assorted art bric-a-brac. He’s demonstrating how to handle a small branding iron with the EIDIA logo on it, which was used to make hotdogs for an opening.

“We’ve both been very influenced by Duchamp’s idea of everyday objects as art, “he says. “In the same way, the artist can turn cooking into an artwork. The same aesthetics apply.” The front of the studio has a small glass-enclosed exhibition space resembling a greenhouse, which they’ve named “Plato’s Cave,” a place for other invited artists to exhibit their work. In recent years they’ve also been immersed in another large-scale, Duchampian project called The Deconsumptionists: Art as Archive, an experiment in creative recycling. It consists of 171 boxes, each containing older artworks by the pair that were photographed, wrapped in “caution orange” plastic, secured with a royal blue tag, and then housed in a 48-foot semi-trailer.

But over the years, food has never been far from their minds. In one food-as-art workshop they hosted in 2015, Paul and Melissa made pizzas with students at Bern University of the Arts in Switzerland. “Making pizza is very similar to making bread, which is very similar to molding clay. It’s all very similar, the process of creative function,” Paul muses. Adds Melissa: “The preparation to make a meal is so much like the preparation to make art. You need to gather your materials, learn the techniques, know what to do with your hands.”

Gilbert & George, Untitled, 1988. Courtesy of Arthur Fournier.

Amusing as the individual cooking demonstrations are, FOOD SEX ART | The Starving Artists' Cookbook also points to the simple, yet profound truth propounded by the anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, who observed that in nature, food is eaten raw. Once it’s cooked and people share it around the ancestral fire, it’s much more than just food; it’s culture.

“Everyone we videotaped had a different recipe,” says Paul. “But in all of them, even the ones that are tongue in cheek, there’s a moment, when the artist would serve the food, and there it was: that wonderful touching, generosity. They’d shared a part of themselves. They’d shared their soul.”

—Jeff Goldberg

from Artsy News