Monster Maker

Hodaya smiled and replied, “Well, my husband and I have recently bought a house, and we are doing some things to, well, make it our own. We’re painting our bedroom and our office first, since the colors the previous owner painted it were meh,” She then showed the man the Dipped in Violet paint chip, “This is what we’re painting our office. It’s currently a greige color that I think is kind of ugly.” She shuffled the paint chip to the back of the small stack in her hands and looked again at the three shades of grey she picked out. “Now that you’re saying it, I think I like Somerset the most. Storm Cloud might be a little too dark of a grey for a bedroom, and just make it feel smaller. Plus, I want a color that goes well with any duvet set that we have.” 

“Ah! Well, congratulations. I’m not actually allowed to paint my apartment walls, so they get to stay off-white. We can at least hang things on them. But that’s super exciting,” Ashley smiled brightly, shifting his weight to better balance the objects in his hands. “Oh, that’s pretty. And greige has never done anything for anyone. I mean, I’m all color myself. On walls, I mean. Not on me except by accident.” He said this, looking down at the rather gloomy paint-stained t-shirt and jeans he was wearing. Still, he offered a smile. “I agree. I mean, dark might help you sleep at night, but it’ll be rough getting up in the morning. I had this old roommate with black-out curtains, and it was sort of, like...30 Days of Night or something, you know?” 

He snorted, “I couldn’t play basketball, I fucking suck at it. The only sport I ever played with T-Ball,” Nev mused “One thing these long-ass limbs are good for is climbing.” He moved into the kitchen to dig through a special drawn known as his sweets stash and pulled out a small package of m&m’s. “What would you like to drink? I have beer–” he trailed off to think of all the things that he had in his fridge. “There’s some sweet tea, bottled water, and leftover cold brew though I’m sure by now it’s pretty strong and bitter depending on how you like your coffee.” It was known that Nevada loved his coffee, and it surely showed as the various different types of coffee devices that sat upon the shelves on the wall. “I ate a lot of things that were easy to fix such as cereal, ramen, Chef Boyardee, TV Dinners, or basically anything that was microwaveable until my mom let my start using the oven after that it was frozen pizzas. I was home alone a lot and had to fend for myself.”

“Geek. Nerd. Whatever the difference,” Nev shrugged. “He had a driver’s license? Well, shit– none of my boys have one,” he shook his head, smiling over at Ashley. He couldn’t help but to smile even more when the younger man hesitated to release his hand right away, giving it a small squeeze before Ash let go. “I think I still have some pictures of him. Just a purple fish?” he mused. “You’re right but there’s nothing wrong with that especially when I have someone like you here.”

“I did soccer for a little while. I wasn’t super great at it,” Ashley replied, wrinkling up his nose. He really was rather terrible at sports, but he liked to imagine he made up for it in other areas. “I was a theater kid for a little bit. You know, it felt natural since my whole film career and everything. And then I was an art kid. But I’ve...you know, never went climbing. I mean, climbing climbing. Like rocks? I climbed few trees growing up and got stuck” His eyes widened a little because now he was thinking of that movie where the guy went climbing and there was a boulder or something. Or the one with all the women climbers and the cave monsters. “Water would be great actually. I’m not used to the whole sweet tea thing yet. I know, it’s like a George staple and all. But in New Jersey, you get bland cold tea and sugar packets, and you like it.” He huffed a little, but was suddenly rather distracted by the various coffee makers throughout the room. “I’ve never had cold brew, though. Could you imagine? I’m already squirrley. It might, you know, make my little hummingbird heart explode. Could I...try just a little?” And smiling, Ashley offered a nod as he listened. “We kept...kosher. Fake kosher. Like, we did our best, I guess. I would have been jealous of you as a kid. I always wanted the cool TV commercial foods. Did, uh, your folks work a lot?” 

Angel gave him a soft smile before laughing softly. “I wish I could be a true rock star or a diva at least, that would make my life a lot more interesting.” He joked. “Oh, it’s going good. Yeah, I usually don’t do it now but recently doing it before a big set or after a set kind of relaxes me. I’m lame.” He admitted. “It’s not a dumb question, it’s alright. I’m kind of anal about the way I tune it because I want it to be perfect. I can spend hours sometimes if I’m not careful.”

“Hey, it’s all about setting your mind to it. I put a blond wig on a guy once for a viking makeup, and the dude sort of turned into Madonna. Like, you know, twirling it around, flipping it back and froth. Diva’s a state of mind.” Ashley laughed, giving a shrug and doing a little display to punctuate the point. “I mean, I get that. Sometimes I use finished eyeliner pencils to draw little doodles? It’s not the same thing.” He smiled, rolling his eyes at himself. “Do you use, like, what’s it called...a pitch pipe or something? Or are you one of those perfect pitch not tone-deaf like me people?”

“Oh good. I was hoping I’d run into another new kid. Well, I don’t know where you’re from, but you definitely do strike me as hospitable.” Chandler stood up and dusted off her hands before looking down at the box and resting her hands on her hips. “How do you lose a microwave? That seems to be a pretty obvious object. Did it take itself out for a walk or something? Cooking with fire? That almost seems archaic enough to be hip again.”

“New Jersey. Which means I’m doing it wrong because I should be coming off completely insufferable.” Ashley replied with a laugh, crossing his arms once everything had been piled neatly aside. “I mean, I asked the same thing. I think maybe they bartered it off at some truck stop somewhere. It’s probably cooking hot dogs in South Carolina right now.” He gave a shrug. “I think they call it a ‘stove,’ which has a ‘pilot light,’ which I had to figure out how to ‘light up’ without ‘setting myself on fire.’ Worst time of my life.” 

Mack heard the voice as he was walking through the park, at first not realizing it was directed at him. When he finally noticed Ashley, though, his face broke into a grin. The guy had been fun to talk to during the photo shoot and prep. Mack hadn’t actually anticipated having quite as much fun as he did, so he found himself grateful to have run into Ashley again.

“Oh, the pictures? Hey, I’m glad to hear it, I was worried you’d have to reshoot all the parts I was in.” He stepped closer to Ashley, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Wow, that’s a big compliment. I mean, she seemed to be a professional and all. Talent? Me? That might be a bit of a stretch, pal.”

“Oh, come now. You were great. I really mean that,” Ashley replied with some cheer. Giving a very serious nod, he held out his phone so that Mack could see for himself. The pictures had been touched up some, effects added, but the man was visible enough under the makeup and helmet. He flashed a broad smile. “You really ought to give yourself more credit. I mean, I do the same thing. I’m my own worst critic. But that’s why other people come along to kick you in the butt, you know?” He hummed. “And really, if we had to reshoot everything, that would have defeated the whole purpose. And my boss would have kicked me in the butt. Which he didn’t, so that’s good.

Braxton took the card and glanced at it before shoving it in whatever pocket he could reach.  “Well, shit.  Who knew it’d be that easy to find something I’d actually enjoy doing with my life?  Like, damn, I’m eatin’ well tonight,” he told the other with a short laugh.  Truth be told, he was borderline ecstatic that he’d be able to afford food and a place to stay, possibly even for a week or two, as long as he budgeted a little bit.  And he wouldn’t have to sink too low tonight, which he was definitely looking forward to.  Even with the basics that he needed, he knew he’d be able to make a trip to the art supply store, as well.  Things were looking up, and it was all by chance.  It was enough to make someone believe there was some sort of higher power looking out for them.  Someone, but not Braxton.  Braxton was just grateful beyond belief.

“Sweet.  I’m kinda looking forward to looking scary.  I don’t think anyone has ever described my face as ‘intimidating’,” he explained, shrugging.  The mention of contacts was intriguing, too, but he couldn’t help but look a little sheepish as he thought about what that all entailed.  “I mean, that sounds really cool.  Like, seriously, white eyes?  But, um…” he trailed off, shrugging, his pale cheeks turning just the lightest shade of pink.  “I don’t really know how to put in contacts, y’know?”  Braxton sat up a little straighter, refusing to look as self-conscious as he suddenly felt.  

“I mean, you’ve got a good look. And I mean that, you know, completely genuinely and professionally. Your features look like they’ll take makeup well, and your eyes will, you know, pierce through it. Which is a great thing.” Ashley yammered on a bit, nodding his head. “I don’t know how many scary Necromancer gigs there’ll be, but...hey, there’s a niche for everyone. Me, for example, I play hobbits.” He joked a bit, flashing a smile. 

Angel put his ear to the guitar as he strummed and twisted the knobs, trying to tune it just right. He had the inspiration for a song and he was going to the store and then home, so he would have enough notebooks and pens to write whatever hit him. He really needed a few more songs for his repertoire and for the talent manager that had given him his card. “Um, sorry, I didn’t hear you.” Angel was sitting on the stage of the coffee shop that he usually performed in and was tuning his guitar, waiting for his ride to show up. “I was tuning this and usually when I am, I tend to accidentally block out the world around me. I also am terrible at paying attention.” He admitted. 

“Ugh, fine, I get it. I’m just a talkative groupie. I’ll take the hint, rock star.” Ashley huffed melodramatically, making a bit of a show of pulling out his phone and beginning to distract himself on it. Peeking up, he offered a joking smirk. “I was just asking how it was going. I have absolutely no idea how to tune a guitar, so for all I know, it’s some long, intensive process that might not even succeed. So how is the whole tuning thing going?” He shrugged. “I am aware that’s a dumb question.” 

He really had never seen the difference in their heights until Ashley came out and said exactly how tall he was. When he finally noticed that he was nearly a whole foot taller than the younger man. “I guess low metabolism of the downsides to being six-foot-five, and here I eat nothing but junk food,” Nev exclaimed. It was a good thing he was active and went to the gym regularly. “Oh, let’s make both and mix them together. I might even have some m&m’s we can throw in with them. Sriracha popcorn? I’m a real weakling too when it comes to spice too. Good thing you didn’t get that, or we’d be skipping straight to the ice cream.”

Nevada watched Ash give all the attention to the two dogs, he set the bag of snacks down on the counter and leaned against it. “You’re not the only one that’s a nerd when it comes to something they love,” he mused when Ashley commented on their names. “Dave isn’t bad. I have a cat named Amadeus– well, he doesn’t live here. He’s with my mom back in San Francisco. He’s one of those Selkirk rex cats, they have curly fur.” Nevada reached out his hand to help Ashley up off of his feet.

“Uh, yeah, you’re kind of....you know, super tall. I mean, I have to look up at a lot of people, but...you could play basketball, man.” Oh, you’re so tall and strapping and cool, Nevada. Nyah, nyah, nyah. You’re so lame. Ashley’s inner voice immediately set to mocking him. Still, he grinned through it, fighting back just how flustered he really was. And how flustered he was feeling now that he had noticed how tall and strapping and cool Nevada was. “I can’t reach top shelves. But I think it works like a horseshoe or something. Like all the short people and all the tall people can eat whatever they want, and I guess, sucks to be in the middle, huh?” He laughed. However, his features immediately became very serious. “Mix them? And chocolate? Oh, you’re a wild risk-taker.” He quirked a playful brow, breaking into a fit of laughter. “That said, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with skipping right to the ice cream. We always ate real bland stuff growing up, you know? I mean, I grew up with my grandparents. There was a lot of oatmeal.” 

She giggled at that-it was true, surprise do mean jumping out and saying boo. It was honestly so much fun doing that. At his question, she shook her head. “Nope,” she answered. “I promised my niece that I would keep  all the monsters away from the back, no matter how cute or fuzzy or freaky they are.”

“That’s too bad,” Ashley called glumly, raising his voice to be heard through the room. “I mean, I might of count as a monster? I was a Swamp Thing for Halloween a few years ago. Made it myself and everything.” He laughed. “I don’t compare to the Brooklyn devil I had to do in New York, though. Way back when. I’m costuming the actors in this Halloween haunt, right? So picture it. This guy. Huge. Full red-faced makeup. And he tawks like dis. ‘It’s ah’ me Lucifa, whattayougonnadoabout it?’”

“I just wanted to let you know the pictures came out great! We got them up. Did you want to see?” Without waiting for a response, he began flicking through his phone, pulling up his employer’s website. “Everyone says you outshined the lizard woman, but don’t tell her that. I can totally send these your way if you wanted. I think you have a natural talent.” 

@capt-mack-carter​

“That’s funny, because I went to the store this morning and got snacks for us. There are some mozzarella sticks in the oven now, and I got us a pint of ice cream. I’m not sure what flavor you like but I have more than one to choose from– ice cream is kind of my forte,” Nevada mused. “You are the best though–” he hummed, opening the box of cookies and helping himself. “What kind of popcorn?” he questioned. 

The moment Ashley asked about the dogs is when they came trampling forward, they were both big dogs but more than loveable. “This–” Nevada reached down to give a hearty pat to the side of a very fluffy Malamute, before gesturing to the dalmatian “This is Pawarotti, and that over there is Poochini. They are both the bestest boys,” he cooed.

“Ah, well, great minds think alike, I guess. And I’ll eat any kind of ice cream. That’s, like, totally one of the perks of being five-foot-six. You get to keep your twelve-year-old metabolism forever and just...you know, sugar rush.” He smiled brightly, giving something of an anxious laugh, suddenly hyper-aware of his height even though he was the one who brought it up. “Uh, you know, just regular. And, uh, caramel corn. Nothing too fancy. They make, like, sriracha popcorn now too. Did you know that? I’m a real weakling when it comes to spicy food. But maybe some time.”

Ashley rather immediately fell to his knees to greet the animals, apparently ecstatic with how happy they were to see him. “Oh, my God, they are the bestest boys. You’re adorable, did you know that?” He cooed as he pet the dalmatian. He broke into a fit of laughter at their names. “Poochini. Oh, gosh. That’s the perfect name for you.” He looked up at Nevada with a smile, rolling his eyes at himself. “I named my fish Dave when I was a kid.”

“So if you’re a geezer than what am I? Since I don’t have any social media accounts. I don’t understand the point of them,” She admitted. Blushing a bit at his reaction, she shrugged. “Nope. We didn’t have television growing up. Actually I never watched anything until I was fourteen when I snuck out to the movies. It was a Harry Potter film and I was so confused about what was going on. Power Rangers sound interesting though. Maybe I’ll check it out later.” There was way too much television and movies to learn everything. “You’ve never been to Painkill-a-thon and yet you’re in the movies? Well that has to change! You need to check them out at least once in your life,” Hillie pointed out. “That sounds very interesting but then again I find all religions interesting. I’m from a small Amish town in Illinois. If your mom is anything like you then of course she’s cool.”

She laughed, “Well that’s a big dream to have but I’m sure you’ll achieve it one day. The makeup you do is amazing!” Hillie laughed,

Hillie laughed, “Shot! And here I thought that flattery would get me everything! That’s been my motto my whole life! I guess you’re right. I’m not really getting that whole handsome alien vibe from you.” She did what he asked, smiling like she was instructed.

“Uh, well, I think more and more people are going that way, actually. Unplugging, I mean. My whole field is publicity and contacts and portfolio, though, so I guess I’m more of an Instagram staple than I’d want to admit.” Ashley smiled brightly, offering a small shrug of his shoulders. “Ah...well! Harry Potter is good too. I think I missed the boat on it, though. Lots of kids in my class were all in, but I don’t know. I read the first few, and I just sort of fell off.” He pursed up his lips. “Hey, maybe one day I’ll make it there. I think lots of the fans think I’m annoying. Most ‘plucky kid’ characters are, yeah?” He seemed to nod in understanding. “Ah...Amish. Well, that sort of explains the Power Rangers thing. I’m sorry. That’s...super interesting! I mean, I was boiled alive in pop culture growing up. I can’t....you know...picture it. But, same scripture, I’d guess. Old Testament anyway.”

Hodaya was at Lowes, buying supplies for DIY projects around the house her and her husband recently bought. The couple has done the backsplash in the kitchen and re-tiled the downstairs bathroom, and now it was time to paint their bedroom and their office. She knew what primer she needed, since she was painting over light brown walls, but were so many varieties and finishes and colors of paint to choose from. Hodaya knew she wanted to paint her and her husband’s office Dipped in Violet, but the bedroom, on the other hand, was undecided. She discussed with her husband earlier and came to the conclusion that they wanted a grey bedroom, and with Hodaya’s background in cinematography and watercolor painting, he trusted her judgement. Hodaya found three shades of grey that she liked the most, but couldn’t decide on the exact shade. She turned to the person next to her and asked, “So which shade do you like the most? Contemporary Grey, Storm Cloud, or Somerset?” 

@atlanta-rpgstarters​

Ashley was marching around with a handful of PVC pipe pieces; he had gotten into his head to use them in constructing a base for a pair of wings. The damned things, meant to be mounted on the back of an already fabricated chest piece, kept collapsing under the weight. And he hoped the extra foundation would help them maintain their shape. Looking up at the question while perusing the spray paint, however, he offered a small smile. “Uh...Somerset. It’s the cheeriest. Storm Cloud is nice, but storms are, well, storms. And I think Contemporary Grey is really just code for beige.”

To say his head was hurting would have been an understatement. It felt like someone was constantly trying to smash his head with a hammer. Pushing himself up, Rigs needed to blink, not having expected the bright sunlight. He was just about to try and remember how he had ended up on a fucking bench at the park, when he noticed someone standing next to him. “Jesus…!”, he grumbled, “Got nothing else to do..?!” Blinking once again, he finally noticed the empty bottle of whiskey that was still standing in a paper bag next to the bench. That at least explained why he hadn’t made it home last night. Fishing a cigarette out of one of his pockets, he was just about to search them for his lighter as well when he noticed that the person still hadn’t moved. “Hey, what’s your fuckin’ problem, hmm..?!”, he snapped, glaring at the other with his cigarette between his lips.

@atlanta-rpgstarters​

“Uh! Nothing. Sorry...I just, you weren’t moving, like, at all, man. I was going to call someone, but if you’re all good, I’ll be going!” Ashley put his hands up in mock arrest. Typically, he did not approach people whom he imagined would rather be left alone. But there was a rumor in his high school about a kid who had found a dead guy on the way to Applebees. And he was having an Applebees moment when he saw Rigs on the bench. His anxiety was quelled to find the stranger moving but ignited again with his outburst, and so, he took a step back, still smiling nervously as if afraid someone might pounce. 

‘It’s a surprise,” Alexis singsonged, closing the back door of her kitchen at her restaurant. She was planning something big at l’Etoile, and had a tiny fear that they would see it. “Don’t want to spoil it, especially when it’s not finished yet.” It was a habit for her to be so secretive, even when she was a bit terrible at it.

“Uh, sure, I’ll wait! But usually, for me, surprise means jumping out and shouting ‘Boo.’ There isn’t, like, a freaky monster back there or something, is there?” Ashley asked this jokingly, and in truth, he would be rather ecstatic to be frightened by some freaky monsters. Either way, however, he settled more easily in his chair and clasped his hands together. 

Sofia groaned when the sunlight hit her face before she buried herself in the bed more.  “Come on, it’s early.” Sofia mumbled out as she pushed the covers down a little ad looked over at the person that had woken her. “You couldn’t have found a better way to wake me?”

@atlanta-rpgstarters​

“The day’s young, and it’s time to make the donuts.” Ashley said this brightly as he pulled back the curtains, flashing a broad smile far too chipper for the hour. “But I’m sorry. I tend to find the sunlight rather pleasant to wake up to. Sure beats an alarm. Mine’s broken, and I don’t know how to change the noise. So it just goes full boat horn every day.” 

Nevada was perched on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table as he was grading a stack of papers when receiving the text from Ash. He pushed up off the couch, there was a little bit of enthusiasm in his step and the dogs seemed to notice as they popped up when he did. Nev was afraid that it wouldn’t take him long to start harboring a crush for the younger man if he hadn’t already.

When opening the door and seeing that Ashley had an armful of snacks made him smile. “You got snac–” It was when seeing the box of knock-off thin minutes that he stopped abruptly and reached out to take it from him. “Shit, Ash– talk about knowing a way to a man’s heart, or should I say stomach?” he teased, tucking it at his side as he reached out to take the bag of groceries, before gesturing for the makeup artist to enter. “Fair warning, the minute you step it in– you’ll be bombarded by dogs.” He stepped back, closing the door behind them. 

“Oh! Well, I didn’t know what you liked, and I was already at the store picking up some things. So I figured I may as well just grab some stuff.” This was a bold-faced lie; he had gone to the store for the sole purpose of buying snacks to stand there awkwardly holding when Nevada answered the door. Still, Ashley managed a broad smile when he saw him. He so wanted the guy to like him. “I got two kinds of popcorn too,” he droned on, following him inside. At the mention of dogs, however, he visibly perked.

“Dogs? Oh, gosh. I was never allowed to have one. What are their names?” He looked around perhaps overly eagerly for the animals, but this was not part of the show. Sure, cozying up to Nevada’s pets would help his case; but he was genuinely excited to see them.