michael hartman.

Who: @mikeyhartman and Mena

Michael had felt that familiar itch creeping beneath his skin lately, especially when late night scrolling through his socials. After weeks, he’d finally decided enough was enough, walking into Mods with a design in mind though he was always open to alterations. Greeted by none other than the tattoo queen herself (not that he’d admit that seriously), Mikey responded to Mena with a lopsided smirk of his own. “What’s shakin’?” He asked, tone light as he stuffed his hands deep into his denim pockets. “I’m after your magic hands, want to get some new ink right here.” The male slapped his hand gently against the opposite forearm. He supposed buttering her up a bit wouldn’t hurt, especially since he was planning on letting her permanently mark his body. “I’m thinking some head/heart split stuff.”

WHO: livvy & @mikeyhartman

Michael semi-understood the itch to decorate festivities, but only because that’s how he had been raised. If it wasn’t for Livvy’s insistence, he probably wouldn’t have bothered otherwise. He definitely wasn’t a decorator — just did as instructed, like a good little brother would. “Even I know that stuff collects dust when it’s not being used, Livvy.” He teased, taking the box of interior decorations and resting it against his torso. He’d made it seem like it was such an effort, helping out his sister, but what else would he do with his time, really? Besides, living with Livvy again— even if she did get on his nerves ever so often — well, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Eyes sifting through the box, he chuckled at the familiar sights of all her collective items. “Leave it to you to hoard all the cutesy Halloween shit…”

Vince laughed softly. "I'm sure it's not that bad," he smiled a bit. "Well, summer's rolling on and it's been great so far. "I don't have any complaints. Good weather actually brings in more sales and people looking for properties, believe it or not. We've got quite a few lined up by the beach. I guess that's the new trend now."

“I’m glad to hear it. And Oh, I bet.” Michael had no doubt that the realestate world was booming, not that he really knew a whole lot about it in the first place, but then the great weather tended to have a positive impact on people. “None quite like Livvy’s, though. It’s a pretty great pad, good bones.”

Zarah let out a breath that she didn’t realize she was holding as she settled in, following the instructions provided to her to secure herself. She felt Stevie give a small shift underneath her and her legs tightened in response, to attempt to secure herself. The last thing she wanted to do was topple right on off and into the dirt. Her dark eyes flickered down, catching Michael’s grin, feeling a bit more at ease. If she ended up toppling off, at least he would be there. “Okay,” she let him know with a laugh, more from adrenaline than anything else as she listened to his instruction. Her fingers adjusted against the leather as she waited, bracing herself for the inevitable shift and movement as he joined her on the horse. The fact that there was a kid depending on them to find their stuffed animal and that was more important than whatever awkward closeness came with proximity of sharing a horse. In general, she wasn’t overly sensitive about such matters even amongst people she didn’t know all that well. She supposed this to learn a lot about someone though. “You did pretty good too,” she said tilting her head back enough to glance over her shoulder once she felt he was secure too, an amused smile on her face. “Now to more important things – if you were a stuffed dinosaur where would you hide?”

Her compliment on his mounting skills triggered a low chuckle from Michael. There was no denying that it was a little bit of a tight squeeze — him being as tall and broad as he was, of course — but he believed wholeheartedly that it’d be fine. Horses were strong creatures, and he admired them for that as well as their heart. “That’s a very good question.” He admitted, eyes scouring over their surroundings. “Maybe we try the round yards? And after that if we’ve got no luck, the closer trails?” That was, assuming she hadn’t already looked through the stables and tackle area. With a gentle tap of his heels and a click of his tongue, Stevie moved forward steadily and Michael steered them outside of the paddock he’d been roaming.

WHO: elena & @mikeyhartman

He couldn’t say he was shocked when Elena approached, a little confused in the beginning, wondering what he had to have an excuse for. That was until it clicked, that she was referring to his lack of presence on the dance floor. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t use his past injuries this time around. “Honestly?” He let out a breathy laugh, hands resting in his lap. “I don’t think I’ve got one. Why, you going to force me to partake?”

Tipping his nonexistent hat, JD grinned at his best friend as he stretched a bit and looked at his watch. "Just on a run, you know gotta stay in shape for the summer," he patted his stomach and then laughed, "not really but a change of scenery never hurt anyone right?" He asked more rhetorically but still before shaking his head. "You knew about that!? Damn I gotta learn how to be more inconspicuous next time," he was only teasing before leaning against the fence as Mikey did.

”You have to stay in shape? Really?” Michael scoffed a bit, light hues rolling into his head as a bemused smirk took over his features. “When aren’t you doing something fitness related?” He teased, though he was completely rhetorical. “How’s everything else going? You and Nay doing good?

Chandler could certainly empathize with anxiety, even if he hid it so well most people had no idea. While large crowds didn't bother him, he also didn't feel totally at ease in them either. At least Chandler could use alcohol to handle that. Mikey had given up that life, and Chandler was proud of him for still being sober almost a year later. It was longer than Chandler had lasted.

Michael looked over to Chandler with mild disbelief. “You’ve never played whack a mole before? Seriously?” Not that he’d hold it against him. It was nice to learn new things about others, especially his good friends. “Do we make it a bit more fun? A little friendly competition?”

Rabbits would probably be one of those 'depends on who you ask' kind of things. Someone who keeps rabbits as a pet might be offended. Someone who just had all their lettuce eaten... well, they're not going to argue with you. You could, sometimes it just takes adjusting to a new schedule for it to be a major life change. Yes, well, luckily for you... they do kind of love me, so feel free to name drop. But that also means I get to kick your ass if you ever get into trouble. Remember that!

Yeah, yeah… but thats a whole point, huh? Not everyone loves everybody. Someone’s always gonna have their opinion on you. But enough of that deep shit… We’ll see how I go. I’m just hoping I don’t piss off Naomi by jumping ship — not that it’s easy to rile her up, but still. You already do that, so what else is new?

"It really is nice here," Vince agreed. He nodded. Mikey seemed to be in a good place, enjoying life, aside from whatever challenges that life could throw at them. "Oooh, alright, are you our go-to pastry guy now?" he asked with a teasing grin. "Summer's been good so far. I don't have too many complaints about it,"

”Shit, no.” Michael replied quickly, a stupendous glimmer in his eyes. “I’d poison the whole town if that was the case, and… I have a feeling nobody wants that.” Not unless they had a wish to end up hospitalised from food poisoning — it might be a little dramatic, but still. “I don’t think anyone can complain about summer here. Too hot? Go cool off at the beach. Too cold? Rug up, crank a fire. It’s pretty good, honestly.”

That's because I am a very endearing pest, way more so than the insect variety or whatever else annoys people. I have, and they normally do hire at least seasonally, if you would want to try to work during the warm months, see if it's something you'd want to stick with. But… yeah, the mornings are pretty much a necessity when it comes to working on a farm. You'd probably adjust if you had to, though!

So… kind of like a rabbit. They’re technically a pest, right? But they’re also cute, and fluffy, and warm… or they can be. Mallow is a pretty accurate representation of you, too, though — and we all love Mallow. You think it’s worth giving it a shot? Maybe I’ll become a morning person with time. Who knows. Maybe I’ll go and talk to the owners. It’s not like they don’t know me, either. Even if it is as your little brother. Hey — maybe it’ll even heighten my chances.

“I’d hate to get kicked by a horse for misgendering them,” Zarah mused with a smile. The odds were that horses in general didn’t care all that much about all of that. In general, she liked to treat everyone pretty equally even the equine variety of being. For now, the most important thing was that this horse was going to be okay assisting. After all, she didn’t know it or it’s general demeanor. She knew that it had to have a somewhat gentle personality if it was here. She doubted they housed a lot of rough and rogue horses when they literally brought children and people working through rehabilitation out there. Kicking a child in the face was probably a swift way to land at the glue factory. “I know but I was thinking of the whole doubling it thing,” she said trying to rationalize her thought, though she trusted him whether she should or not. While she could be a discerning person, her nature was to trust. She nodded at his instruction once he was off, using common sense and gravity to try and push up and grab hold, moving until she up and firmly planted. “Not ending up face first in the dirt is probably a positive sign for the search,” she told him.

Michael let his humor ripple from deep in his chest at her words. “God forbid, right?” He chuckled back, though not necessarily needing a response. Her scepticism on their combined weight was warranted, he supposed, though it didn’t particularly cross his mind — not really. “It’ll be fine, don’t worry about it.” From what he had seen of Zarah around Merrock, she was quite petite and he doubted she weighed much. Him, on the other hand… with his fluctuating build, and the muscles that continued to grow with the physical activity he’d steadily maintained since his accident. He was a bit chonkier than the average joe. Nonetheless, he knew Stevie would be up for the challenge (if he had to call it anything). “Alright — on three.” The pair worked together once he was on the ground beside her, hoisting her frame up to swing up onto the saddle. It might be a little close for comfort for some people, but there was a more important task at hand than that. Michael couldn’t have this child missing their stuffy any longer; it just seemed cruel. “You did good.” He reassured with a smile, one eye squinting the slightest bit to look up at Zarah. “Just hold on tight to the horn there, the saddle might shift a smidge while I get up behind you, but I promise it won’t go anywhere.” Thankfully, his tackling skills had improved over the past year. Bouncing on his toes, Michael climbed up behind the brunette, one hand making sure to keep a grip on the reins, even if it was loosely. “You good?”