#tag: thread

Where: Olympian gardens | When: mid-day | Whom: open to all

Today is a day off for Emanuel. He seldom gets the chance to stop and rest. For the occasion, the young manager chose to go to one of his favourite places, Olympian Gardens. At a slow pace, he makes his way to a bench. In truth, he would be tempted to claim it was "his" bench. After all, he never saw anyone else sit there and coming to this spot has become a bit of a ritual during his few days of rest.

A tranquil and quiet stroll. Always stopping to smell the fresh air when it hit the various flowers of the garden. Taking in every bit of nature he can as if uncertain he'd get the chance to do so any time soon. Once he'd sufficiently reconnected with the elements, he proceeds to his final destination: the bench! A quiet groan escapes him as he sits down. Tired wasn't enough to describe the pains in his body from standing long hours at the Ambrosia. The weight of keeping the establishment open was definitely starting to take a toll but Emanuel never once considered leaving. In fact, he almost felt guilty to be away from his post. Surely a bit of administration was left to be done. What of the day old pastries? Would his worker remember to give them away? Did-- "Never mind all that, Emanuel!" he thinks to himself. He takes a deep inhale to recenter himself. In actuality, Emanuel had come with a purpose beyond relaxation this time. He had brought a book... a dream dictionary! Which he opens almost impatiently moments after settling down. The young manager begins reading with intent, deeply focused. Last night he had a weird dream and he's keen on deciphering.

A wheat field. A golden sunset. A child running away from him. Always out of reach. The child disappears into the foliage only to emerge as a flock of doves...

Just as he begins to find keywords and definitions, he hears the sound of gravel cracking under the weight of someone approaching. Emanuel moves to close the book half way, almost instinctively hiding it from prying eyes. He's aware of the oddity of his... peculiar interest in dreams. Being mute, he has very few options in ways to explain away his odd choice of literature. Should they have noticed the book, he can only hope the other is open minded enough not to mock him. Then again, it's not like it would have been the first time. With a brother like his...

Where: Snake Eyes Casino | When: Night | Whom: Open to all

Godscobh wasn't a very big city. But from within these walls, you would never have known. Snake Eyes Casino is bustling with life 24/7. Between the smoke and flashing lights, the droves of beautiful young waitresses attending your every need with a smile and the live jazz band playing endlessly, you couldn't tell the time of day. In Snake Eyes Casino, you were living the dream. A shiny, drunken and uninhibited dream world that promised you everything you could ever desire. Funny how quickly a bottle of champagne and a couple of free credits could make any mild issue simply go away! A fantastic magic trick that never seemed to fade in effectiveness. And if the problem persists... There was a team ready to turn your life into a living nightmare.

Cigarette in hand, Damien "Boogeyman" Sanderson stands proudly on the second floor balcony overlooking the main game room. His eyes scanning his domain, looking out for any signs of scammers and other wiseguys who dared believe they could outplay him. And like clockwork, a duo catches his eye across the room. Big mistake.

With a swift gesture, he calls over one of his lackeys and whispers something into his ear. The man nods once and reaches for his radio.

"Table 28. Good night."

And with that, the unsuspecting men get escorted out of the premises. They shout in protest, resisting the large security guards in vain. Coincidentally, a flock of handsome waiters just so happened to approach a nearby booth celebrating a bachelorette party. Greeted with sparklers, flutes of champagne and cheers, the women screech in excitement! Suddenly, no one seems to care what happened to those guys. In fact, no one even remembers them. Poof! Magic. Damien chuckles. Although this scene graces his stage regularly, he never gets tired of the despair on their faces as they realize they never had the upper hand. He takes a long drag of his cigarette as he continues his observations. That's when he notices... them. What are they doing here tonight? Mr. Sanderson pauses pensively then abruptly puts out his cigarette. Eyes locked on his prey, he moves onto the game floor. He slithers through the blissfully unaware crowd with ease before stopping behind his visitor. He clears his throat to catch their attention. "Look who we have here..." he settles next to them by the bar. "What brings you to my door on this fine night?" He playfully leans onto his closed fist, batting his eyelashes. "I don't suppose you've decided to visit just to have a go at the slots, have you?"

the day had been long, and though it was shortly after dinner time, thomas felt as though it should have been two in the morning. he supposed that was what happened when someone had a guilty conscience, they simply worried all day, day in and day out. dinner had been quiet, much like it had been over the past couple of months, and the silence in the kitchen wanted to make thomas claw his eyes from within his head. he needed discussion, he needed conversation, he needed noise. silence consumed him, and made him feel guilty for what he was about to reveal to his girlfriend of many years. thomas would lie in bed at night, his hands folded tightly over his stomach as he stared at the ceiling like a complete, and total, idiot. he would roll to his side, away from claudia, and stare at the wall that was opposite his side of the bed. he would get so tired he would begin to see things showing up against their white, plain, bedroom wall, yet he still couldn't go to sleep due to the fact that his heart was in his throat each and every night since his situation had began. thomas' sister had always told him that he had choices in his life that he had to make, and if at some point he made a mistake than he had an option to move on or make that same mistake again, which ultimately would make it a decision--a choice. thomas had made his choice, and he ultimately was going to have to face the consequences sooner or later.

thomas had done something he swore he never would, and that was cheat on claudia and be how his father had been with his mother. thomas was the one that had found out about his father's affair first, and while he couldn't blame his father's actions on his own, clearly the asshole apple didn't fall far from the asshole tree. the fact of the matter was that thomas and claudia had began fading away from one another, and despite that also not being a valid reason for him to cheat, thomas knew it contributed to his decision making. there were several things as of late that thomas wish he hadn't done, but there was no taking it back, and it was the long days that worsened his guilt. thomas' series of poor decisions had began with a drunken night out at a bar with his friends, claudia having not been there for whatever reason, though her reason for not being there wasn't important. thomas knew that if she had been there, then nothing would have happened between himself and natalie, but that was no excuse, and neither was his drunken state. it started with dancing, very far away from one another, just two people being drunk and dancing in the most odd of ways. gradually, they moved closer to one another, and soon their silly dancing had turned into grinding, nearly on top of each other. it turned into them excusing themselves from their drunken group of friends, people whom still didn't know that they were having sex whenever they could, despite them all being together that one night. they had sex in the bathroom that night, and again at her place, and for a month, give or take, they were having sex whenever they could. it was eventual, however, that thomas grew guilty, and decided to call it off after a couple of months, their time together becoming shorter and fewer visits far between.

walking into the living room after cleaning up the dinner plates and placing them in the dishwasher, thomas slowly, in almost a slow-motion manner, walked into the living room, sitting on the coffee table in front of claudia that was across from her seat on the couch. he breathed in slowly, exhaling heavily. his heart was racing, his head was spinning, and his stomach had satan's bats flying around at an uncontrolled rate. thomas rested his hands atop of his girlfriend's knees, trying desperately to look into her eyes for more than just a moment at a time. he could feel the tears welling up in his own, and eventually he hung his head in defeat. "we need to talk." saying those four words gave him some relief, but once he said them it was as if his mind was on turbo speed. thomas didn't wait for claudia to respond to him, and he didn't look up from where his eyes had fallen, which was on their throw-rug covered, hardwood floor. "i cheated on you." he said it without anymore hesitation, feeling as though he was going to throw up. he felt relief, though he was sure that the battle was far from over.

harley was running late. there was a spring party at one of the greatest frat houses the campus had to offer. harley wasn’t part of a sorority, and in fact, she thought they were kind of odd, but she did enjoy the parties--which she attended often. harley had always been a bit of a party-person, but her outgoing personality had flourished even more so when she entered college. she was one of the few freshmen to attract seniors left and right, whether it be boys or girls--though she wished it was only the girls that would approach her. being a lesbian was tough, harley had noted, due to the fact that unwanted males would invade her personal bubble, thinking that it was okay to come onto her, knowing damn well that she was into women. everyone on the college campus, or most of the student body, knew that harley was a lesbian. why? because she made it known. she talked about her sexuality freely, and when she had a girl on her arm, she flaunted her. that was the good thing about harley, she was out and proud, and absolutely did not like to hide her relationships. sure, she had dated people that were closeted before, but it didn’t last. harley would never pressure someone to come out. if they weren’t ready, they weren’t ready. not everyone had the luxury of having as supportive family and friends as harley did, but because she was so secure with her sexuality, she just couldn’t handle having to hide her relationships. 

with her tight, light blue jeans, and black top, harley made her way towards the living room and slipped on her black leather boots, and black leather jacket. those two items always completed her outfit. making her way out of her apartment--perks of having a scholarship was that she could live in and on-campus apartment, rent free--harley walked down the street and towards the frat house. it was a little chilly, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. she passed a couple of acquaintances that she said hello to, and rolled her eyes when one of those random girls she had slept with yelled “call me”. harley wasn’t a player, but she did enjoy sex. what she didn’t enjoy, however, was the stage five clingers that came with it. she had only slept with a handful of people, and most of them she had been dating, so it wasn’t like she was a “slut”, or whatever people tried to call her. truth be told, harley didn’t care even if she was a slut. she was the kind of girl that was proud of who she was, and that was that. she was sick and tired of the world judging women and calling them whores, all because they liked a good fuck.

making her way into the frat house, she sighed in relief. it was a bit warmer than outside’s temperature, but that was just because there were so many bodies. the music was bumping, and she kind of felt like she was at a concert. she had to excuse herself a couple times to even just get past the front door, but once she was on her way, she was pushing through the crowd. harley was mostly there to meet her good friends ryan and sophia. though she didn’t know how good of a friend she was to ryan, seeing as how harley had the hots for sophia. how could she not, though? she was gorgeous. “what’s up?” she asked as she approached them, punching him in the arm, and throwing a charming smile in sophia’s direction.

The day had been long, and after confiding in his coworker, someone who was in the same boat as Ace when it came to work and married life, he was given a card to call with a number on the back. At the time, Ace had given his thanks, but hadn't even looked at the card, as Thomas had simply told him that it was a good place to talk to someone about things. Ace expected a therapist, after all, those were becoming more popular over the years, but as he walked into his hotel room at eight in the evening, a place he often visited when he didn't feel like having an argument at home, he pulled the items from within his pockets and set them on the table. Picking up the card his pal had given him, he couldn't help but breathe out a chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief. Though it was not a therapist's phone number, it was certainly a place where you could call so you could pay someone to listen to you speak about problems. The number belonged to an agency, a place where girls often flocked when they needed money, or whatever the reason was in movies. Ace was not about to beckon a call girl to his hotel room just because he was stressed with work and with his wife, Ava. Thomas had to be out of his mind, was the only thing Ace could deem an appropriate enough reason for him to give him the number to a call girl agency. Inspecting the card, Ace noted how professional it looked, and for a moment, he thought about taking Thomas' advice and giving them number on the back a quick call, but he couldn't. Just because Ace no longer wanted anything to do with his wife, didn't have anyone to talk to, and had been deprived of sex for about a year didn't mean that he was going to stoop as low as calling an escort.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed after slipping his dress jacket off of his shoulders, Ace ran a hand through his hair, messing up the gel he had put in it at seven in the morning. He sighed, his eyes darting to the card that was still in his hands. Taking out his cell phone, he dialed the ten digit number on the back of the card and waited patiently for the ringing to end and someone to pick up the phone. In one aspect, he didn't want anyone to answer, and in another he was incredibly curious and wanted to know how it all worked. A female voice picked up on the end of the other line, and for a moment Ace didn't say a word causing the woman to question if someone was there. Clearing his throat, he spoke up. "Hello." He breathed deeply, and before he could say what he wanted, the woman on the other end perked up, asking him what he wanted, when he wanted it, where he wanted it, and whom he wanted. Unsure of how to answer half of the questions, he simply stated that he wanted someone there before midnight, where he was staying and whom they should ask for. He wasn't signed into his room under his real name, seeing as how he paid cash they never asked for identification, so he had no problem giving out the name Ray Rivera. The woman on the other end of the line called his  The other end of the line went dead, and Ace let out a breath he hadn't known that he'd been holding. What if some girl showed up and knew him, or he knew her? What if some girl showed up and she simply wasn't attractive? Should he have asked to choose whom he met with? He didn't have any preferences, clearly, seeing as how he had never done such a thing before, but if Thomas could recommend it, then it couldn't be that bad. Calling down to the front desk, he told the male that a woman would be coming in to ask for him, and that he should send her up, but without a key. The last thing Ace needed was for it to all be a set up and he end up dead.

it wasn’t easy, having to hide a relationship. it wasn’t easy when they were sixteen, and it wasn’t easy at eighteen. one would think that over time, they would have gotten better at hiding it, but it was deemed nearly impossible now. ava was over all of the bullshit, and she could only imagine that carmen was too. they had spent nearly two years hiding the fact that they were dating, and ava thought that when they finally came out at eighteen it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. they were adults, after all. their personal relationships shouldn’t have bothered anyone’s life at any point, but apparently, people made it mandatory to say that it did--more specifically, their parents. their parents were hardcore, catholic people, and ava had never cared much for religion. she was forced to go to church when she was little, but once she hit fifteen, she began refusing to go. her parents hated it, but what were they to do? they certainly couldn’t drag her to church by her hair, so they resented her for that. they resented her for a lot of things at this point, not going to church being the least of them, but being a lesbian was the most bothersome one at that moment. 

ava looked at it this way, if she loved someone, then it shouldn’t matter what race, nationality, or sex that they were--really the only thing that mattered was if they were human, of age, and alive, or not. ava loved carmen, and everyone knew that since they were kids, but their love had just flourished over the years. it all started with a kiss, preparing them for the real thing, for the boys, when they were sixteen, but that one kiss sparked something stronger, and it only went up from there. they hid it. they were young. but god forbid they were to break up, then that would have been the most awkward thing of the century, but they managed to make it through. ava was very outspoken, however, and eager to come out to the world. deciding to blurt it out at dinner one night to both her parents, and carmen’s, was not such a good idea, but once the words slipped past her lips, she couldn’t take it back. she heard about how they were such disgraces from their family, her father even breaking a glass that he threw against the wall. her mother was crying, while her father was screaming, and for a moment, ava had to wonder if she had just told them that she was pregnant or something worse. her father had kicked out carmen and her parents, saying that it was her fault that she was the way she now was, and ava tried desperately to explain the reality of the situation, but to no avail. she cried, and cried, and cried some more. she thought about breaking it off with carmen, but then she realized that would be the most idiotic thing she could ever do, so instead, ava proposed that they try to sneak around once more, only it was harder this time because both sets of parents knew. they’d meet up, having their other friends lie and say that they were staying at their house, but really ava and carmen were in a hotel room, cuddling, because all they yearned for was each other’s touch.

ava was over the whole situation however, but instead of leaving carmen, she decided to leave her family. it was an odd situation, seeing as how no one would ever believe that she would ditch her family for a girlfriend, but she was going to, and she had not one qualm about it. she wouldn’t regret it in the morning, days from then, weeks, months. she’d be with the girl she loved, and she’d be leaving her prejudice life behind her. she had money. her parents were loaded and gave her a savings account for college. it had racked up since she was born, and she had enough to live freely. she could get a scholarship, she was smart enough, and was good at sports. she had it all planned out. she had it written down in her journal, writing a few more ideas and details each day. looking up from her journal at that moment, ava checked the time on her phone. it was near midnight, the perfect time to do what she had planned. throwing her journal into her bag, she turned her attention to a typed up text message that had been sitting in her message bar for at least an hour. ‘hey, i just want you to know i love you.’ she hit send, typed another message right after. ‘i have a plan, babe.’ ava was more than just a double-texter. ‘i think that we should run away.’

they finished the song, and adam took a couple of bows as if he were the king of the world. despite his reputation, and his demeanor, he was actually incredibly dorky and down to earth. he wrapped his arm around micaela's waist and pulled her into a hug, chuckling a little as the audience applauded louder. adam mumbled a quiet, "you did so great", into her ear and made sure to smile down at her. they were on ellen degeneres' show and his favorite talk show had to be ellen's, as he always felt as though he was part of the family, especially since he had been on there so many times. the audience kept clapping, and ellen had them cut to a break, so that micaela and and adam could go get changed in their dressing rooms. he knew the deal, he had done it a thousand times. they had very limited time, about five minutes, so he thanked the audience with his partner one more time, and grabbed her hand to bring her to the back. "you did awesome." he reiterated his words from earlier, smiling at her once more before descending into his dressing room to quickly get changed. he stripped himself, putting a new set of underwear and clothes on before spraying fresh cologne on his body. adam checked himself out in the mirror, liking what he saw, as usual. he wasn't cocky, he was confident, as he knew he wasn't ugly, but also didn't feel as though he was superior to the world when it came to looks--or anything, really. there was a knock on his door, letting him know that he only had about thirty seconds before he had to leave his dressing room and head out on stage.

quickly, he finished off his hair, making sure it looked good enough to be in television, and he exited his room, meeting up with micaela near the stage. it was when they announced their entrance that adam could feel his adrenaline skyrocket again, and he basically bounced out onto the stage, waiting for micaela in a courteous manner, despite his hyperactivity. they waltzed over to ellen, and adam gave her the biggest hug he could muster, stating that it was incredibly great to see her, before sitting down in his designated chair. the audience was screaming, and he was glad that he was used to it, or he was sure that his ear drums would have exploded. every time someone applauded him, he took it in, and took it in gladly. he lived for the thrilling sound of people screaming out all because he had just walked into a room. he appreciated it, and never took it for granted, always thanking them, and this interview was no exception. when the audience calmed down, he took his moment to thank them all, and ellen let him, as it had sort of become a routine that they had each time he was on her show. she would always commend him on his hospitality, and it always made his heart swell, because his one goal in life was to make people feel special, and he tried, every day. "you guys look great!" adam thanked her, already knowing what she was going to be up to throughout the interview, as she was often up to it every time, difference being that he actually had a girl by his side this time for her to tease him about. she loved being involved in his love life, and micaela was a beautiful girl, so why shouldn't she want to insinuate things. she was going to let the rumors swirl, but he was okay with it. in fact, adam even deemed her meddling incredibly funny. no, he wasn't dating micaela, and she probably wouldn't let him, but that didn't mean that he didn't flirt with her.

ellen started off casually--slow and steady. she asked questions about how they were, what they were up to, and how the song had come about. "yeah, you know, we're just out here trying to promote this surprise song that we came out with. it'll be featured on one of our albums, i'm pretty sure, right?" adam glanced over at micaela, letting her take the floor for a moment. the last thing he wanted was to overshadow her, and wanted to give her equal opportunity to speak her mind, as adam was known for talking a lot, and he was trying to learn to tone it down. talking a lot wasn't necessarily a bad quality, but in interviews, all he did was talk, and often went over his air time, making them have to cut it down. it was a good thing that micaela was there with him, she'd keep him grounded, and actually speak as well, making sure that he didn't overdo it. "i just kind of hit her up, you know? i wanted to collab with her for a long time, and we, well i, figured it was about time." he smiled over at the person he shared the single with and laughed. "well, i'm pretty sure she figured it was about time as well, seeing as how we did it."

Where: Ambrosia Café | When: Evening | Who: Open to All

On this rainy day, thankfully things were slow. Ideally, a worker would be handling the front but the Ambrosia was painfully short staffed this season and Emanuel didn't have the heart to refuse their desired vacation days... So he had to man the cafe alone for a few days this month. Aside from the few regulars in the morning, the Ambrosia was empty. This was a perfect day to get some administrative work out of the way.

Emanuel sat at his small desk space, hunched over his laptop. A pained look on his face, he tried making sense of this damned Excel sheet for what felt like HOURS. It seemed no matter how hard he tried, the total cash wasn't lining up to their actual earnings.

Was one of his employees stealing small amounts of cash here and there? It couldn't be... He had complete faith in his small team of servers and baristas. The thought that something was potentially going on behind his back was deeply troubling. They were good people! The kind that celebrate his birthday with a cheap cake, they even bothered learning ASL for his sake. Swayed by their kindness, Manny often put way too much trust into his workers and allowed them quite a lot of freedom on the floor. Emanuel had never considered possible thievery. He sighs deeply and buries his head in the palm of his hands, practically trying to massage the worries out of his brain.