* isn't it obvious?

the glitter gulch, 30th of may

Zakir had never even seen a bull. Well, not a mechanical that was. He’d seen plenty cows and bulls back home. The idea of riding one had always felt a bit odd and out of the question given his Hindu/Islamic upbringing. No pigs, no cows, was his Mother’s slogan.

But this wasn’t a real bull.

So he’d, with his thrown-together cowboy outfit including boots and a hat, entered the ring and sat atop the bull, knowing full well that he wouldn’t last that long.

They’d barely given him time to secure himself ontop of the thing before it started and he was thrown off... well, basically in the first second it felt.

Then ushered out of the ring for the next person.

His hat had gone flying - so much for looking dashing while riding a mechanical bull - and disorientated after the fall, he simply walked up to the first person hoping to retrieve it. "You wouldn't happen to have see a cowboy hat flying this way, would you?"

“you shoulda tried harder,” came a blunt statement from mac as they look around the establishment for the cowboy hat. there were a million and one here, and it felt like looking for a needle in a haystack… literally. they have to stifle laughter that threatens to bubble up from their throat at how disheveled zakir was. it brought back a memory they hadn’t thought about in a while, their brother miles slipping on the rope ladder at the fair. god, they missed their siblings. but they were on their own now, so they’d better make the goddamn most of it.  “shit, sorry. that was rude. i wasn’t really paying attention, though.” a hand gestures to the table they’re sitting at, where their trusty hardcover yellow notebook sits splayed open to a random page. bright blue eyes flit about the room, as they go back to making observations on any and everything;  like the couple over there, laughing over mojitos, this could have been their anniversary, and they spent it coming to the rodeo. or the girl in the sequined cowboy hat, she clearly wanted to have some fun, maybe she came with friends, or she was confident enough to go on her own. they point in a random direction, and sip on the blueberry lemonade they got from a stand, “i’m pretty sure i saw it fly that way, but let me check the floor.” they look at the floor in front of them, seeing gold sparkle on the ground. “i think i see it! nah, that’s a cowboy boot.”

“it's  not,”  he  says  honestly  with  a  shrug.  “but  hey,  if  half  the  city  is  gonna  be  out  at  this  thing,  might  as  well  join  ‘em,  right?”  he  flashes  her  a  grin  as  he  shoves  his  hands  in  his  pockets.  “it’s  been  pretty  fun  so  far..  a  lot  more  than  i  expected,  even.  hey,  you  want  a  drink,  by  the  way?  let  me  buy  you  something!”

kiara would have given him the direct line to her apartment if he had asked. and would she have waited by the phone each night to make sure she got his call? no one besides her would know. but part of her had been thinking about their brief interaction since the moment it happened. she wanted to run into him again, and this just felt like fate, “right, gotta immerse yourself somehow!” she gives him a grin of her own.  “i’m so glad you’re havin’ fun. i ended up eating like two lemon bars from one of the other places. i love tasting food that isn’t mine; gotta experience new food. i’d love it if you bought me a drink. but maybe a lemonade or somethin’, i rarely drink.” 

"Okay okay, that makes you the expert, so there really is no way around your expert... can't even call it an opinion, can I?" he asked, a grin on his face as the waiter arrived and Sunny ordered two large milkshakes. He had no idea if this would lead to a sugar overdose, but people who knew what they liked had to be listened to. It was how he found new food and drinks, sometimes even on the job. And he could spare some money for this small indulgence. Hard earned money had to also be enjoyed.

The beaming was adorable, he smiled genuinely and remembered his own little siblings and niblings and cousins. Sunny was good with any age group, really, but he'd exagerate with the youngsters, their like of him always seemed to weigh heavier. "Six? Big age! Kids any age are amazing, but I love that age where they start thinking for themselves and being more intend on what they like and dislike, so that strawberry milkshake must be big."

marisol’s sweet tooth expanded to almost anything sweet, but especially strawberry or chocolate flavored things. vanilla was good, she did love a god vanilla ice cream or cheesecake, but strawberry was the best flavor. hands down, no notes. talking to sunny felt natural. almost as if she’s known him her entire life. he reminded her of the people who showed up for classes at westbeth. out of their element, but willing to learn and be open to something new. marisol hhad only made a few friends since moving, but she thought that sunny would be a good one to add to her ranks. “so you’re an italian guy, i get that. i like a good gelato or panna cotta. there’s this nonna at my old apartment complex who made the best biscotti.” “you can’t. it’s fact. just like i know for a fact that you’ll enjoy ths shake.” when sunny ordered, she placed her own for just a single shake. she didn’t want to have a sugar crash, but she understood wanting to indulge and have a good time. “right? the other day she fought me on what she wanted to wear to go out to the park. she wanted to wear a tutu, and i just couldn’t say no. but she loves our shake dates, so do i. do you have any family here?”

His voice as well sounded familiar.

"My man!" He grins as he puts a hand on the stranger's shoulder, then pulls him close, "I like fun guys like you!"

He wonders for a moment who he is. An actor? A voice actor maybe? Ace often has a movie or audio book playing in the surgery room when he's working. It was both to catch up with literature he wanted to indulge in or just plain background music. This man has to be popular if Ace can remember him.

He feigns ignorance for now in being curious who this man is—he'll pry it out after their bet. He's pretty sure that the look of interest is still very evident in his features. He leads the stranger to the line wherein there was only one other person waiting, "You want to go first or should I do the honors?"

diego grins as ace pulls him close. when they pull away, he claps ace on the back with a grin and holds out his fist for a fist bump. “dude! fun is my middle name!” a beat passes. he looks at the other and lets out a laugh. “it’s not danger, it’s josé.” he notices ace looking at him. did he do something wrong? or was he trying to figure out exactly who diego was? he could see the wheels turning in his brain. this was his favorite part about being semi-famous, people knowing who he was and trying to figure out just what they’d seen him in. i mean, he did have twenty three years of work under his belt.  “it’s your bet, you go first.” truthfully, he was trying to spare himself some humiliation by losing outright. plus, maybe he could get some tips on how to stay up longer than three seconds… which was his current bet for how long he’d stay up there. ace, however? he had no clue, but diego would be his biggest cheerleader no matter what. 

with a nod from her head, lauryn looks at the stranger, giving them a moment. “yeah, you!” she says with a grin, pushing some of her coils out of her face. the twist-out she wore was becoming a slight bit of a hassle to manage, but that’s what the silly denim cowboy hat was for. she tucks the errant curls underneath her hat, and when they mention not being a good dancer, lauryn jokingly scoffs. “oh, c’mon, you can’t be that bad. i dance like a child just learning to walk,” this was a joke of course, but she had to make the stranger feel comfortable. country was a million times different from the hip hop & r&b she grew up with, and had even less of a comparison to the pop-punk she wrote and sang now, but a beat was a beat, wasn’t it? “i’ll take complete and total blame if you somehow manage to destroy the building!” watching them set down their lemonade, they decide to keep an eye on it, or tell them to throw it away after they were done. people didn’t call vegas the city of sin for no reason. “i’m fated to die early,” it’s a foreboding yet foolish statement, the young vampire slayer knew that death was immienent for them all, yet lauryn felt that her clock was ticking towards its meager end.  “i don’t usually frequent places like this, but i thought, why the hell not?” she remarks as ivy adjusted their headband. they give the other person a light shrug. “i’m not too sure. i’ve been trying to figure it out as i watch, so for this one, you just step to your right, then your left. then slide, i think.” she says, as she tries to demonstrate the movements she just mentioned. “it’s pretty simple, you should be able to pick it up, even with your destructive feet.” 

now that she had them, marisol didn’t think she would be complete without say say and tulip. they brought light and music back into her life, and there was no doubt about it. the second she walked into the apartment for the first time and saw the drawings on the walls, and all of say say’s trinkets,  she knew that the other girl would be someone she stuck by for a long time. it’s strange, knowing that you’re supposed to be with someone from the moment you see them. her grandma always talked about “her meant-to-be”, the person you know is your soulmate, the one made for you. your person. at one point, marisol would have said that she didn’t even believe in love at first sight, that it was something that only existed in rom coms with sidney poitier. but  say say was her meant-to-be, and she wasn’t spending any second of her life without her. they had a steady thing going, but marisol was scared to define it. she worried that if she did, say say would be overwhelmed, and run away. ever since the deaths of her grandma and ms. liza jane, she had this dread in her heart that everyone around her would leave, and she would be all on her own, and she couldn’t have that, so she was going to hold on as tight as she could and not let go. not for a long time.  seeing that grin on say say’s face? that was all she wanted to see every day for the rest of her life. she stepped closer to say say, and tucked the flower behind her ear. “perfect.” she let out a fake groan at the mention of reciprocation. “say… you don’t have to. i’ll escape it, i will. i’ll be like harry houdini in the straitjacket. watch me.” 

when:  evening,  friday,  may  30th,  1997

who:  @thmbheart  !

adonis  makes  his  way  around  the  lounge,  not  having  expected  himself  to  attend  the  event  at  all  if  he's  being  completely  honest.  it  just  isn't  really  up  his  alley…  but  hey,  why  say  no  to  a  mechanical  bull,  right?  he's  totally  gonna  end  up  falling  off,  but  it'll  be  one  hell  of  a  time  at  least.

as  he's  walking,  he  spots  her.

he  remembers  briefly  meeting  her  at  a  convenience  store  not  too  long  ago,  thinking  she  was  cute,  and  regretting  not  getting  her  number  after  the  whole  encounter.  at  the  time,  he'd  just  convinced  himself  that  she  was  just  being  polite  and  wasn't  really  interested  in  getting  to  know  him,  even  if  it  was  just  as  friends.

still,  he  finds  himself  being  drawn  in.

so,  approaching  her,  adonis  greets  her  with  a  grin.  “hey,”  he  says  coolly.  “long  time  no  see,  eh?”  he  chuckles,  as  if  they  really  know  each  other  beyond  meeting  literally  once.  “what  made  you  come  out  tonight?”

being from arkansas, kiara had seen her fair share of rodeos. her brother had taken her to a community one once or twice, and she remembered it fondly. the fair foods, the hog wrestling, her brother falling in the mud once or twice ( or four times, let’s be real.)  she remembers him instantly. the boy who offered to show her around town. that was a long time ago. and sure, she does have some regret that she didn’t follow up, but where would they have found each other? outside the store again? maybe that could be their meeting spot. when she catches sight of him, a sly grin appears on her face. she could give him a hard time for not following up. rib on him a bit. “hey, you. yeah, you could say that, 'specially since you didn't get my number. ” she lets out a laugh. talking with him felt familiar, despite them only meeting once. it was like he was a friend she always had. in a way, he was. adonis was one of the first people she met in vegas, and he clearly made an impression. “i like rodeos. what can i say?” kiara gestures to her outfit, a pink cowgirl ensemble that made of pieces she thrifted from a few different costume shops in vegas and arkansas. “what about you? didn’t think this was your scene.”

To be honest, this sort of hoax wasn't usually Dahlia's MO. More often than not, she stuck to stalking the streets like the black cat she was, lurking behind her prey and catching them off guard. She wasn't really sure how she'd been able to swing this country getup but here she was in jeans, cowboy boots, and a plaid shirt complete with a cowboy hat. The only thing was she didn't...look like herself, not exactly. Over the years, she'd learned the art of deception and she'd taken the form not of a southern belle but instead, of a good ol' boy--you know, one that holds doors open for people and loves his mama and all the rest of that shit. She looked handsome and suave and once the show had gotten started and she'd sung through a couple of songs, she felt silly in her realization that she was actually sort of...having fun. But this ruse wasn't for nothing, of course. Per usual, she was hunting. And she'd found her prey.

She was gorgeous--dark curly hair and gorgeous eyes, she caught Dahlia's attention almost immediately. She didn't recognize her and honestly, she couldn't tell if she was actually interested in her or if she was just hungry, not that it really mattered either way. She had a plan and she was going to stick to it. The only issue is that someone was getting in the way. He was a pretty boy and he looked familiar to her, though she couldn't quite place him. As she continued to sing, still disguised as a handsome cowboy of course, she continued to eye the dark-haired girl but she kept catching the young man's eye instead. She felt a little frustrated but then again, food was food. She could tell she'd captured the stranger's attention because he kept moving closer and closer to the barricade. And as he moved closer to the barricade, little by little, with each verse and chorus, she simultaneously got closer to the front of the stage. She could feel her hunger grow. She supposed that at the very least, she'd get a good meal out of it--though as she kept moving closer, she could see the beautiful girl follow behind him. Maybe this would work out in her favor after all.

Now in retrospect, was performing in front of a large audience in order to hunt risky? Sure. But half these people were probably drunk anyways and most likely wouldn't be able to tell the difference from a stunt and a real-life murder--or at least, by the time they did, it'd be too late and she would already be long gone from the Doll House. Besides, she was in disguise after all.

if you had asked her, lauryn would say she wasn't a fan of the rodeo. that's ignoring the fact that she’d never been to one before. she was normally game for parties — they were typical for the business she was in, both music and vampire hunting — but the rodeo was debauchery at its finest. it was too loud, too messy, too everything. but for the first time, she wasn’t the designated driver. which meant, she could let loose. lauryn had done her best to get into the rodeo spirit. she donned her best denim ensemble, a cute denim vest with sparkles, jeans, and a sparkly cowboy hat. she was ready for anything the night brought her. she was only one drink in, and swaying side by side to someone she could only recognize as a vitelli, spencer, was it? he was having a good ol’ time, and lauryn thought she would too. 

the singer was a typical country boy, the type who lauryn thought would bring back chivalry, even if she wasn’t interested in guys. he wasn’t all that special, with a kind of voice that lauryn had heard on star search as a kid, but it was in the way he worked the crowd and the stage. as a fellow performer, she could appreciate that. but there was something incredibly off. she noticed his eyes first — blood red, much like the blood that ran through her body, which, the vampire probably wanted. but the worst part? his eyes were unfortunately staring straight at spencer, and her. she had to intervene, what kind of slayer would she be if she didn’t? wasn't that the whole point of a slayer? to stop vampires? instantly, she starts looking around for the closest exit to get everyone, but mostly spencer, out of the venue.

her eyes drift back and forth between spencer and the country singer. he was approaching fast, and lauryn could swear she saw fanged teeth beginning to emerge from his mouth. she had to act, and fast. otherwise spencer vitelli would be vampire chow, and the city could not handle losing another vitelli so soon. what would the headlines say this time? that the vitelli's were marked for death? her blood runs cold in her body, and she aggressively tugs on spencer’s arm, trying to get him to look at her. could she get him out the door in time? she wasn’t so sure, so she hits him on the shoulder in an attempt to get his attention “spencer, we gotta go, now. i know you barely know me, but just trust me, we need to get the absolute fuck outta here.”

"Betcha' I can stay on the mechanical bull longer than you," Ace said with a grin, a taunt if it was anything else. "Twenty bucks to see which one of us can ride it longer? Although I think I already know the outcome, but you can try."

In all honesty, Ace doesn't even know if he's going to win. But, it was always fun to make these kinds of bets. He likes the thrill of things and adding money to it doesn't hurt. It's also to make the stakes higher or just plain entice the other person to take up his challenge.

Ace is a local, has been going to this event for a majority of his life. He's had his fair share of riding that bull and has definitely lasted in riding it for at least eight seconds. He's going to try and break his record and having someone go against him is getting him excited.

"Would you prefer a higher amount? I don't mind it." he says before looking over to the mechanical bull. The person who was riding it is barely three seconds in and they're already slipping, then falls off of it. Ace laughs, amused at the person who fell and couldn't last a mere three-seconds on it.

diego was no stranger to competition, having grown up in constant competition with his sister, even when he hadn’t wanted to be. that in turn lead to someone who couldn’t back down from a challenge, even though he should. at ace’s bet, diego s pretty sure that this stranger’ll win. he’s never ridden a mechanical bull before, and he’s only seen stunt people do it. he remembers when he was an extra in some corny western before he got his break, watching the stunt people stay on the bull for as long as it was needed for the shot. as a kid, he thought he could do it. hell, he thought he could do anything. diego looks at the stranger and raises his eyebrow, in a “you really want to do this?” it was all talk, though, he probably won’t last three seconds. he fishes around in his pocket for a twenty, and finds one crumpled up, which he sets down on the table in front of them. “twenty’s good enough for me!” he gives ace a grin. this was going to be fun. “lead the way.”

kenny + ??? : may 30, mid afternoon @ cupid's arrow @boneyardstarters

a burst of laughter erupted from mac’s mouth as they let out a puff of powdered sugar from the matching funnel cake they just bit into. people had a way of being unintentionally funny, and with kineret vitelli, it happened more often than not. since meeting them, mckayla thought that kenny vitelli was one of the good vitellis. if there was such a thing as a good vitelli. if you had asked mac previously, they would have said they weren’t sure. they had only interacted with the rest of the vitelli clan a handful of times, and they weren’t under the … best of circumstances. but kenny was different. if good different was actually something that existed in vegas. las vegas was the city of sin, after all, and mac was no stranger to sin themselves. was there some catholic guilt there? oh, of course there was, that was to be expected. wiping their mouth of powdered sugar, they let out a snort as they look at the clown. “i bet they’re actively sensing every bit of fear in your body, just waiting for the time to strike…” were they being a tad bit dramatic? sure, but they were a writer. it was their job to be dramatic. they put a hand on kenny’s shoulder.  “relax, ken. if the bull of torture is what you want, it’s what we’ll do. even if they'll get lambasted with powdered sugar flavored mess.”

wylder + ??? : may 30, mid - evening @ glitter gulch lounge @boneyardstarters

finally, an event kiara didn’t have to bake for. that sounded harsh, but it was true. she’d been catering so many events lately that it started to take a toll on her. her wrists would hurt like hell after every batch of dough she kneaded, hand cramps from overmixing a batter that she had o redo. kiara loved what she did, but sometimes a gal needed a moment. she just wanted to sit, maybe have a lemon square or two ( not that they would be better than her own ), and watch the festivities. she practically scarfed down two servings of fried oreos from cupid’s arrow, which, were fucking fantastic in her eyes and was looking for more excitement. in a minute. she needed time to debrief and collect her thoughts. Sitting on an empty bench, a small container for the oreos next to her, kiara welcomed the disturbance. “no, it ain’t taken.  you can sit.”  five seconds back at a rodeo and she could feel her accent getting stronger. it hadn’t gone away, it never would, but the southerner in her came back with a vengeance. she gingerly takes the lemon square from wylder, trying not to drop it on the floor. “thanks. lemme guess, mud wrestling?” she does a once over of the mud-covered girl. what did the other guy look like? Instinctively, she scooted a small bit away, as to not get any mud on her cowgirl-chic attire. “how was that?” 

SADIE SINK

judging by his sister’s reaction, diego could tell that he picked the worst possible place to reunite. or would any place be the worst place? in gwen’s eyes, this wouldn’t be happening at all. they would just be going their merry ways, not acknowledging each other at any point. but this was inevitable in diego’s eyes. he felt like he had to atone for what he did a few years ago. her tone was scathing, and he felt like he was being scalded with hot water at her words. he begun to answer, but when she cut him off, he quickly shut his mouth. probably shitty, is what he wanted to say, but there was no time to be a jokester. “i’m glad they treat you well. i would have been here even if…” he trails off. if i hadn’t ruined your career and burnt a bridge between us, lingers on his tongue. “i’m not giving you a tip, or anything like that. i just wanted to reach out, which, now was probably not the best time for that. should have picked someplace more private. are you off for the night? we could talk? get a drink? or you could beat me up and tell me to fuck off, whatever you want.”