James Zazz

though karaoke had never quite piqued zhenya’s interest, she enjoyed watching others give it a go, making her cave easily when asked to join a group of trainees at taqueria mucho for a fun night out. she was good at what she did, and hardly went out on a work night, so breaking the rules once in a while only seemed healthy at her age. sipping on a glass of iced water with a lemon slice and mint leaves settled against the bottom to give the impression she had liquor, the female sat with her back pressed against the bar, enjoying watching some of her co-workers make a fool of themselves. 

“ i somehow don’t think there’s enough money in the world to convince me to get that crazy, not with the way everything ends up permanently on that web thing these days, that’s how you lose a job before you even start…” she started rambling off with an amused smile to no one in particular, the atmosphere of the place much too loud for anyone to overhear, so she hoped. 

he’d been pushing himself more and more lately, trying to participate in more of the activities, but this one was perhaps the most out of his comfort zone. of course, part of his discomfort was due to the fact that the last time he went to karaoke his sister wrote down his name and tried to force him to sing.  it wasn’t that he has a bad voice.  he just didn’t sing in front of others.  and logically, he knew that without his sister no one was going to write down his name, but anxiety’s a funny thing, so he plopped down quietly at the bar, ordered some wine and pulled a strange item out of his pocket.  he had brought it along a) to study it and b) because it seemed to have the word fidget on it and although he hadn’t any idea how it worked, he figured it was perfect for him. 

he tried tossing it a bit.  no bounce.  he shook it.  that didn’t seem to do much.  and thankfully, he was pulled out of his utter confusion by a faint voice.  “I completely agree.”  he yelled back, maybe a little too loud as he put the strange device back in his pocket and turned toward the other.  “My sister tries to make me do this when she’s in town, but thankfully she’s not tonight.”

it’s not as though romeo tries to be a nightmare. he just happens to lack any form of grace or coordination outside of a sporting context. and that’s how he finds himself tripping over the curb and landing an ink-staned hand square in the other man’s chest. “ah, fuck.” he all but shouts at himself, catching his balance and gripping the man’s shoulder to hold him upright. “i am so sorry.” @jameszazz

          He’s far too lost in his own thoughts.  He’s making a mental list of all the things he’d like to accomplish today: tinker with that eyelash curler(?) Seph told him about and attempt to put together that standing desk he has high hopes for, but would probably rarely use.  It’s all inspirational and with his imagination escaping him, he doesn’t even register the man stumbling toward him until it’s too late.  

          “Oh goodness!”  A hand instinctively reaches up to start to wipe the stain off his chest, but he quickly stops it.  It’s not like he much cares about this particular shirt.  He’d just rather not have a larger problem.  

          Sylas was feeling extremely disheartened these past few days. It seemed as if everyone managed to leave a sour taste in his mouth. They were either too happy, self-absorbed, or disingenuine. So he sat at the bar by himself drinking in an attempt to let everything go. “Here’s to you,” he said with a drunken grin.

1. Do you have any no-maj social media?

I am aware we are not supposed to, but yes, I am have been dabbling in it.

2. Why do you think things are different with No-Majs and Muggles?

Location. Even American wizards are very different from British wizards.

3. Why is your school the best?

I don’t think I can say for certain my school is the best. I think Ilvermorny has its advantages, but so does any other school. 

4. Why is your house the best?

Again, I don’t think I’d say mine is the best. Do I prefer it because it clearly suits me? Of course. It’s always nice to be around like-minded people.

5. What does your wand mean to you?

hit like and i’ll generate a random number (1-70), then use the corresponding quote as a starter.

‘Is that so?” he asked, a brow raised. “I does make sense though, if you think about it. Blue is most times stereotyped as a man’s color due to the fact that it is usually the color displayed when a male child is born.”

“Yes.” He nearly bounced on the balls of his feet as he answered. Facts always excited him no matter how seemingly dull. They were safe and made the world seem less scary to him, even if part of him knew it was a false sense of security. “Although blue is considered a favorite color for most men and women. And until World War Two, pink was considered a men’s color.”   

“Well, you obviously are just gifted, cos you’re serving aesthetic,” they insist, a smile broadening across their face, “Oh, no, honey, it’s a good kind of fear,” they say with a soft laugh, “An eyelash curler? I suppose they look a little spooky. I don’t even use them, I usually am putting on fake lashes so, it seems a bit silly to also try curling my lashes. I think for your average femme, it’s probably worthwhile, but I’m here to be extra as fuck.”

Linden giggles at their actions, shaking their head, “Oh, no, it’s the everything. Plus, that’s a super smart thing to say. I mean, like, of course there’s stuff you don’t know, but, like,” they gesture vaguely, “I don’t really know anything. I just know about aesthetics, you know? Transfiguration was always my jam, and charms. I was always pretty bad at potions and defensive or offensive magic. So, you know,” they shrug, not sounding as if they were genuinely insecure about it, so much as they are aware of their weaknesses, “I think at a base level, you’re probably far smarter than me, and I’m afraid but into it.”

James does a crooked smirk and scratches at the back of his head. It’s pathetic, but he’s just now realizing how few compliments he gets in his life. He shakes his head to himself and turns back to Linden. “Well, I don’t know anything about aesthetics and I was never very good at transfiguration or charms. And I think everything requires their own intelligence, including those things, so I’d say you’re pretty smart, too. So no need to be afraid of me. I, frankly, just learned what an eyelash curler was the other day. Had no idea. They’re terrifying.” 

The look on his face was too priceless and Seph laughed–she actually laughed. A feat for anyone was to make her laugh aloud. And all it took from him was a dumbfounded look on his face. Was this kid for real? “I don’t know–people who like makeup want super long and curled lashes. So you kind have it–,” she held up two fingers together as if it were the curler. “And you squeeze it together on your lashes and it curls them. Makes you look glamorous or something. I don’t use it, but I’ve seen it in movies and on commercials and stuff.”

Some might be offended at someone laughing at them, but at this point in his life, James was pretty used to it. He had been teased by all three of his brothers and well, he knew — to like no-maj things as wizard — it really was pretty laughable. Even so, in this moment, he was able to simply focus on his utter shock. With every second, his eyes grew wider and wider and when she demonstrated how it worked he scrunched up his whole face, cringing. “Doesn’t that hurt? Does it pull out any of the lashes?”

“Blue, an excellent choice!” he replied putting the red scarf down and picking up the blue one. “Blue has always seemed to be a great color, nice and strong. Makes people look nice.”

“Yes.” He smiled and shrugged slightly. “Did you know, it’s also considered the world’s favorite color? Because statistic when asked, ‘what’s your favorite color?’ most people say blue.”

“You’re welcome, honey,” they say, “It’s good, you know, a lot of people fail to express themselves in their fashion tastes, so, it becomes difficult to read who they are. But, you know, I dig it. You’re here and I get it, you’re smarter than me and I’m super intimidated.”

He continues to smile back at them while tugging at his collar. It’s the only move he can think of that might remotely look cool. It probably doesn’t, though. Good thing he can’t see himself right now. He’d probably laugh at how easily flattered he is. However, as Linden mentions being intimidated by him and that he must be smarter than them, he frowns and shakes his head. “I don’t know about that. I think it’s just the glasses. The older I get, the more I realize that there’s a lot I don’t know. There’s just so much out there.”

          “Right on!” she said with a pleased smile. “Before I found the wonderful world of Rock, my parents were kinda sticks in the mud,” she said with a slight roll of her eyes. “I listened to a lot of Pop and boy bands, not that there is anything wrong with them.” she laughed. “So those hold a special place in my heart, but my favorites are Green Day, Metallica, their early stuff, Queen, Steve Millar Band, Avenged Sevenfold, Black Sabbath, System of a Down,” she tapped her finger on her chin. “I those are my top. What about you?”

This whole interaction reminded Persephone of something–him pointing to the tool in awe and confusion. The Little Mermaid. When she shows the fork to the fish and wonders what it is. Seph’s brow cocked upward and she tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing on the strange wizard. “It’s an eyelash curler.” 

From the moment he had spotted this device in the magazine he had been both intrigued and horrified. The shape. The seemingly pinching aspect of it. The fact that it was for eyes! And now, hearing exactly what it was for put him in even more of a state of shock he didn’t know was possible. “Eyelash curler? Really? How does that work and why would one want their lashes to be curled?”