afternap [s][c]

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park

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Ceej

Memo
He/him
28
August 26
Spikemuth, Galar Region
Homosexual
Ranger Captain
Elite Ranger
it gets lonely in this gangster's paradise
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Guillermo Marceliño
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jun 28, 2022 20:04:19 GMT
Guillermo Marceliño Avatar
[attr="class","samcam"]

Memo was so focused on dinner that he almost completely forgot about Alex and jumped a little when he spoke from the doorway.

“That’s because it is,” he called back, opening a bag of tortillas and giving it a sniff to sense its freshness. They were okay, so he wrapped them in damp paper towels and popped them in the microwave.

Okay, so there was mince (and tomatoes, accidentally) and diced onion and shredded cheese because America Unova and chopped cabbage and pickled onion and tortillas and, oh, he was making guacamole. That’s right.

He snagged the avocado and chopped into it with a knife, spinning it to cut it in half, then letting it fall open on the counter to chop it again and remove the core. Okay, maybe he was being a bit more aggressive than he needed to be but that was all right, right? He was cooking his emotions out. It was like therapy but in the kitchen.

“Do you want to eat in there or out here?” he asked, not looking up from where he aggressively crushed the avocado in a bowl.
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Ven

Alex / Lexy
he / him / his
thirty
december 22
Mistralton, Unova
homosexual demiromantic
sanctuary owner
civilian
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Alexei Ivanov
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jun 29, 2022 16:20:54 GMT
Alexei Ivanov Avatar


“I trust your cooking,” he nodded from the doorway—okay, that was a surprise.

None of his indoor Pokémon were causing a ruckus? What was going on? Did Memo probably do some Pied Piper magical shenanigans to make them all keep quiet (or in the case of William and the Wooloo herd at least, shut up for the entire afternoon)?

And then the next question caught him off-guard.

“Well…” he trailed off, tiptoeing out of the bedroom and heading towards the fridge before grabbing an ice bucket and shuffling around for some ice (obviously), he also reached for a pair of matching shot glasses.

“What kind’a alcoholic drinks d’you like?” he inquired as he snuck around on socked feet towards the mini-bar he had, perusing the collection of alcoholic drinks he had stashed away there.

Oh, that’s right, he forgot to answer the other question!

“I… I wouldn’t mind having dinner in bed, y-y’know,” he added absentmindedly as he snagged one of the fancy vodka bottles for himself.

“Not to be stereotypical, but do you favor tequila? Rum? Anything?”



takes place the same day as ‘leave the light on’, basically: the aftermath


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Ceej

Memo
He/him
28
August 26
Spikemuth, Galar Region
Homosexual
Ranger Captain
Elite Ranger
it gets lonely in this gangster's paradise
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1,207 posts
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TAG WITH @memo
Guillermo Marceliño
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 3, 2022 17:19:50 GMT
Guillermo Marceliño Avatar
[attr="class","samcam"]

“Mm, you better,” Memo said, the sass gently woven into his voice. He spun the bowl of mashed avocado and gave the spoon a taste, testing salt and heat. Busying himself with preparing the guac, he watched Alex step gingerly out of his room, like a frightened animal leaving the den; best to not let him know he was watching.

He couldn’t, however, hold back the snicker at the presence of an ice bucket. “What is this, a four star hotel?” he asked, unable to fight the cheekiness out of his tone this time. Sliding the pan off the heat, he retrieved the warm, pliable tortillas from the microwave, and began assembling: meat, onion, pepper, cheese, cabbage, guacamole.

“That’s a loaded question,” he said, sucking a smear of sauce off his thumb and not really paying attention. Here he stood at the edge of a chasm: does he go full in and confess his love for fruity drinks? Or does he pretend to be a man, and go with the straight liquor?

He hedges his bets for something in the middle. “It depends on what version of me you’re expecting to get out of it,” he says, which is the truth. “But I will drink whatever.” It is also the truth.

He assembles two plates, each with three assembled tacos, and sets the extras and rest of the accoutrements on a baking sheet, somehow ordering everything so he can carry it all in one armful.

“Dinner in bed it is, then.”

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Ven

Alex / Lexy
he / him / his
thirty
december 22
Mistralton, Unova
homosexual demiromantic
sanctuary owner
civilian
дождь крови
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5,130 posts
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Alexei Ivanov
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 3, 2022 18:15:59 GMT
Alexei Ivanov Avatar


“If you hadn’t noticed,” he began as he snagged another random bottle off the shelf since Memo had decided to take the dangerous path and answer his question with ‘anything’ (for starters, never tell a bartender you want anything because what they will give you will vary on what their mood is at the time), “…there is a mini-bar just slightly beyond the kitchen.”

He then gestured to the small wall of bulletproof glass that had a collection of various alcoholic drinks and mixology equipment stored behind said wall, before closing it once he’d made his choice.

“I used to work as a bartender. Did it for like, six years or so. The tips were very generous, but at the same time… well… jealous boyfriends would come after me because their fucking girlfriends wouldn’t stop throwing them-fucking-selves all over me!

He sighed.

“Even if I already told all the ladies that I’m gay as the day is long, did they listen? Nope,” he added with a shrug and a shake of his head.

But anyway…

“There… there’s a tray like, somewhere… you can pile the food on it and bring it into the bedroom.”

With that he knew he had to beat it to the bedroom as fast as possible—which wasn’t easy considering he was carrying an ice bucket, the shot glasses, and two bottles of alcoholic drinks along with him!



takes place the same day as ‘leave the light on’, basically: the aftermath


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Ceej

Memo
He/him
28
August 26
Spikemuth, Galar Region
Homosexual
Ranger Captain
Elite Ranger
it gets lonely in this gangster's paradise
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1,207 posts
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TAG WITH @memo
Guillermo Marceliño
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 4, 2022 18:31:07 GMT
Guillermo Marceliño Avatar
[attr="class","samcam"]

“I hadn’t noticed,” Memo said, passing on the TV tray in lieu of the baking sheet he already had set up, “but, I’m not surprised. You seem to have everything here.” He took a second to peruse Alex’s proffered wares-- the alcohol, not his very cute, sleep-mussed hair, or his face, or his body, or anything like that--

“You can hardly blame them,” Memo said, following Alex into the bedroom. “You’re tall and handsome. And you bartend, which means you must have loose morals.” He let the sarcasm drip from that last bit.

He set the tray of food down near the end of the bed and pulled up the blankets to protect the sheets before sitting cross-legged up near the pillows and setting his plate on his lap. Ripping a piece off a roll of paper towel he lamented his creative choice to make sloppy tacos, but he’d come too far, now.

“Where’d you bartend at?” he asked, curious. “Here in Fortree?”

He was determined to keep Alexei's less-than-sordid past as the topic of conversation. From what Memo could glean, his biggest, dirtiest secret was that he bled too much. It was a much safer theme of discussion than anything in Memo's history.

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played by

Ven

Alex / Lexy
he / him / his
thirty
december 22
Mistralton, Unova
homosexual demiromantic
sanctuary owner
civilian
дождь крови
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5,130 posts
part of
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Alexei Ivanov
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 9, 2022 21:08:51 GMT
Alexei Ivanov Avatar


“I have heard so many things when people start getting drunk, so I’m like, okay, keep talking, you’re just literally exposing your whole sob story right in front of me, you’re not going to remember any of this shit in the morning, he began with a pointed eye roll as he waited for the other to fix the bed and get them started on their… dinner.

Almost immediately he grabbed the bottle of vodka, cracked it open, and poured himself a shot before knocking it back in one go.

“As for my bartending? Oh, hell no. Not here. I used to do it at this place—Trashy Rascal’s—down at Slateport. That was so long ago…” he continued as he reached for one of the tacos—mm, fresh—and took a bite out of it before pouring himself another shot of vodka.

“I literally came here with so little money I ended up working two jobs—the other one was a waiter at some little old café that’s long since gone out of business. Money was fucking tight, basically. I mean, I spent most of my savings on the ticket that took me away from Unova and brought me here.”



takes place the same day as ‘leave the light on’, basically: the aftermath


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Ceej

Memo
He/him
28
August 26
Spikemuth, Galar Region
Homosexual
Ranger Captain
Elite Ranger
it gets lonely in this gangster's paradise
awards
1,207 posts
part of
TAG WITH @memo
Guillermo Marceliño
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 9, 2022 21:26:44 GMT
Guillermo Marceliño Avatar
[attr="class","samcam"]

Memo’s face was something between awe and surprise as he watched Alex toss the shot back with ease, like it was water. He was sure he looked shocked, and his own throat burned in solidarity.

No chase?! The man was crazy. He forced himself to chew to keep his jaw from dropping open.

The name of the bar made him laugh, and he covered his mouth with his hand. Trashy Rascals, oh god. That’s a horrible name. I’m so sorry.”

He politely kept his giggles to a minimum as Alex kept talking, the smile eventually fading into something more comfortable and apropos. Yeah, the poverty. Memo could relate-- being out on the street without a dollar to your name, cut off from your parents…

“Did your parents not help you out at all?” he asks, catching onto a thread, there, and pulling a little bit.

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played by

Ven

Alex / Lexy
he / him / his
thirty
december 22
Mistralton, Unova
homosexual demiromantic
sanctuary owner
civilian
дождь крови
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5,130 posts
part of
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Alexei Ivanov
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 9, 2022 21:37:10 GMT
Alexei Ivanov Avatar


Luckily for the other, he didn’t see Memo’s look of surprise as he knocked the shot down without so much as blinking.

He then waved the filled glass in his direction.

“What’s my surname again?” he rhetorically asked the other. “People are surprised I can knock vodka back without a shot, but I mean—c’mon, it’s obviously in my heritage…”

Another shot down the pipes, nothing to it, no sweat at all.

He didn’t refill the glass, however, as the next question was posed.

“No,” he answered simply.

“They fucking pulled me out of school halfway through my first year in junior high, and legit, I shit you not, locked me up at home. I couldn’t go out. At all. My sestras could, however, and they literally spread…their wings. They tried to choke the life out of me because of… because of what I am.”

This time the glass was refilled with a little more force than was necessary, and down the next shot went.

“All because of what I carry within me.”



takes place the same day as ‘leave the light on’, basically: the aftermath


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Ceej

Memo
He/him
28
August 26
Spikemuth, Galar Region
Homosexual
Ranger Captain
Elite Ranger
it gets lonely in this gangster's paradise
awards
1,207 posts
part of
TAG WITH @memo
Guillermo Marceliño
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 9, 2022 22:34:04 GMT
Guillermo Marceliño Avatar
[attr="class","samcam"]

Memo rolls his eyes, mouth twitching up in a smile. “Yeah, and? My last name is Marceliño, but I can’t drink tequila like it’s water.” He pulls apart a piece of tortilla and mops at some of the juice on his plate. “It may be in your heritage, but it’s not a given.”

His eyes flicked up from his plate at the sudden shift in Alex’s tone.

Locked me up at home.


He can feel the color draining from his face. In his mind’s eye, he sees the lingering form of his parents, escorting him to the bathroom, and back to his room, the click of the lock on the door and the slip of the deadbolt they had installed, just for him.

Because of what I am.

Memo swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. Desperately, he wanted to be somewhere else, somewhere that wasn’t this room where his eyes were prickling with tears. He coughed, rubbing at the apple of his throat, hoping to mask some of the emotion welling up within him.

To him, it sounded like Alex’s parents were just worried about him-- in a terrible, horrible, suffocating way. The thought made him sick, that he’d been so indoctrinated into this-- this idea that strict parenting was a victimless crime.

“I--,” he started, then stopped, heart hammering in his chest.

“I’ll be right back,”
he said, gently sliding his half-finished plate onto the baking sheet and slipping off the bed, walking stiffly out of the bedroom without a backward glance.

It was wrong, he was wrong, what Alex’s parents had done to him was awful, just like what his parents had done to him was awful. This was just the-- the forced reprogramming talking. He squeezed his eyes shut. He needed to go back in there and tell Alex that.

But he couldn’t move. He was a statue, growing into the floor, and he couldn’t even comprehend why.

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played by

Ven

Alex / Lexy
he / him / his
thirty
december 22
Mistralton, Unova
homosexual demiromantic
sanctuary owner
civilian
дождь крови
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5,130 posts
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Alexei Ivanov
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 9, 2022 23:09:53 GMT
Alexei Ivanov Avatar


Aha, so it’s tequila, then?

He was busy ruminating on the information that had been passed to him so nonchalantly he very nearly missed the next cue—

“What… what’s wrong?” he asked quietly. Looking up from the filled glass and knocking it down again, but choosing not to refill it as he watched the other come to an abrupt stop. Literally left his share of the food on the tray and walked out—

What was going on?!

He blinked as the other needed a moment, but the way he was walking was… off-putting.

Unnatural, like it shouldn’t even have happened in the first—

Alexei then swung his own legs off the bed and bolted after the other.

“Memo…?”



takes place the same day as ‘leave the light on’, basically: the aftermath


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Ceej

Memo
He/him
28
August 26
Spikemuth, Galar Region
Homosexual
Ranger Captain
Elite Ranger
it gets lonely in this gangster's paradise
awards
1,207 posts
part of
TAG WITH @memo
Guillermo Marceliño
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 10, 2022 0:03:47 GMT
Guillermo Marceliño Avatar
[attr="class","samcam"]

He heard his name being called from behind him and he tried to force himself to smile and turn and act like everything was okay, everything was all right; at the very least, he managed a shaky, “I’m-- fine. Everything’s fine.” But he didn’t move from his spot or turn to look at Alex.

He squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to breathe.

“Sorry, I--,” he bit off the words, not really knowing what to say. He couldn’t really explain what was going on.

He didn’t know what to apologize for.

Sorry your parents were crazy? Sorry they messed you up, just like mine did?

Sorry for--


Almost agreeing with them?

His stomach lurched. He pressed the heel of his hand into his eye, and twisted, like smiting a cigarette, but instead of fire it was tears.

“I think I might be having… a PTSD moment?”
he finally said, hating himself for it. This wasn’t what he wanted to portray. This wasn’t what he wanted to lay at the feet of the people he cared about. Hoenn was supposed to be new, he was supposed to be new, not dragging around all these old bones and ghosts.

“I’ll be okay,” he said, but his voice cracked.

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played by

Ven

Alex / Lexy
he / him / his
thirty
december 22
Mistralton, Unova
homosexual demiromantic
sanctuary owner
civilian
дождь крови
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5,130 posts
part of
TAG WITH @alexei
Alexei Ivanov
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 10, 2022 15:19:55 GMT
Alexei Ivanov Avatar


“You… you don’t sound fine,” he began, blinking as he watched the other. Oh, the signs looked to be otherwise.

It took a while for what the other said to sink in—

“Wait, a PTSD moment… what are you talking about?” he asked the other, hovering slightly behind him, very hesitant to approach the other—or at the very least place a hand on his shoulder.

Why… why was this hard for him to do?

Why couldn’t he reach out to the other, and give him at least some kind of physical reassurance? Of comfort?

God, Alexei, why are you such a fucking coward?!

“You’re… you’re not okay. I… I can tell…



takes place the same day as ‘leave the light on’, basically: the aftermath


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Ceej

Memo
He/him
28
August 26
Spikemuth, Galar Region
Homosexual
Ranger Captain
Elite Ranger
it gets lonely in this gangster's paradise
awards
1,207 posts
part of
TAG WITH @memo
Guillermo Marceliño
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 11, 2022 1:45:06 GMT
Guillermo Marceliño Avatar
[attr="class","samcam"]

Yeah, he didn’t sound fine, and he hated that. His fingernails bit into the meat of his hand as he squeezed his fists, willing himself to stop being a freak. But it was too late to turn back now-- he’d already done and acted a fool. He could explain it. He just needed… to be in control.

“My parents… locked me up, too,” he finally managed to choke out; he relaxed, if just a little, shoulder sagging. There was a pounding in his head from the tension release. “And after a long time… after enough of it, I started to think. They were right.”

It all kind of unspooled, like a yarn ball bouncing down a hill.

“Like, they were doing it because they cared for me.” He fisted his hand in his own hair and tugged, feeling the burn along his scalp.

“Like that made it okay.”

He looks at Alex, then, if just for the briefest of seconds, eyes flashing up then back down again.

He’s asking for help. He just doesn’t realize it.

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played by

Ven

Alex / Lexy
he / him / his
thirty
december 22
Mistralton, Unova
homosexual demiromantic
sanctuary owner
civilian
дождь крови
awards
5,130 posts
part of
TAG WITH @alexei
Alexei Ivanov
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 17, 2022 1:40:36 GMT
Alexei Ivanov Avatar


“That…”

He blinked as the other slowly, very slowly unraveled and brought things to light.

While it wasn’t as bad as the neglect he’d faced after being pulled out of junior high, fact of the matter was that what happened to the other was—

“Excuse my Kalosian, but that is absolutely fucked up,” he finally managed to say at last, grabbing the other by his shoulders and shaking him. “And you thought that was okay? Why didn’t you say something? A-anything?!”

Or was there another part to all of this…?

“Or… or did your parents bring down ‘divine’ retribution on you if you fought back, or anything like that?”



takes place the same day as ‘leave the light on’, basically: the aftermath


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played by

Ceej

Memo
He/him
28
August 26
Spikemuth, Galar Region
Homosexual
Ranger Captain
Elite Ranger
it gets lonely in this gangster's paradise
awards
1,207 posts
part of
TAG WITH @memo
Guillermo Marceliño
afternap [s][c]
POSTED ON Jul 17, 2022 1:52:41 GMT
Guillermo Marceliño Avatar
[attr="class","samcam"]

Memo squeezes his eyes shut and, once more, wishes to be anywhere but here. He wishes he could roll back the last several minutes, back to before he’d said anything, back to before he’d had his weird little freakout, back to when everything was okay and they were eating dinner and Alex was slugging back shots like a freaking fish.

Sure, it wasn’t-- years of solitude, but it was a cumulative lifetime of abuse. Neglect. Doctors and counselors and priests.

He forced himself to breathe. Dial it back, kiddo.

This wasn’t at all what he wanted to bring to this-- this relationship. This was something that was supposed to be left behind.

He’s fighting so hard with himself that he doesn’t realize Alex has grabbed him until he’s being physically shaken.

Dial it back, dial it back, dial it back.


His mouth was dry. He didn’t open his eyes for a long time and when he did, it was to look down.

“You get told something enough you start to believe it, I guess.”

You’re dead to me. I have one son, and one son only. You’re dead to me.

You’re a freak. You’re an abomination. You’re sinful. You’re wrong. You’re broken.


“They were…”

Divine retribution.

You’re dead to me.

I have one son and one son only.


“...definitely the hands-on type.”

He cracks his knuckles, tense. He can’t look up and he can’t move.

“This wasn’t supposed to be about me. Sorry.”


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img
The Shula Region
Hogwarts AU
RPG Unlimited
MR
The Enroi Region
N:FB
Vyrehaven
Celestial Guardians, AU Sailor Moon RP
EO GENESIS
Code and Crown: An advanced literate warriors cats RP, set in medieval times
Swords Clashing