resplendent

Is Halloween one of your favorite holidays? That's so true. Thank you, I'm really looking forward to it! What do you enjoy doing in the fall? Besides Creek Fest, that is.

It's definitely in my top holidays. I mean, there are only so many in the running that actually amount to anything. I don't know many people claiming Arbor Day as their one true favorite holiday! Creek Fest is sort of a given. I like hiking and camping though, especially when it's not too cold but starting to cool down. What about you?

Let me ask you this then: when should I start wearing that sweatshirt you got for my birthday again? It says 'Spicy' - are people going to take that at as 'pumpkin spicy' or something cause' that's not the type of energy I'm trying to put out.

Who cares what people might say? I mean, half the fun should be letting them speculate. At the end of the day, people are always going to have their own opinions. If you're lucky , none of them say whatever they're thinking to your face so you won't have to worry about it.

Chandler sighed at her question. The math thing felt like a bigger secret than his trauma, but bringing up child abuse certainly wasn't a fun topic for anyone. "Not really. Insert some whole sob story about trauma here - feel free to use your imagination to come up with the specifics. People touching me has always felt more dangerous than comforting." Chandler shrugged, tone casual as if he was talking about the weather.

Did she expect him to tell her his whole life story? No. They didn’t know each other well enough for that. When a situation merited a follow up question, she wasn’t afraid to ask it though. That was the only way you did get to know someone better.  There was never really any obligation to tell her anything though.  “I would prefer not to use my imagination for that,” she confessed.  “Everyone has a history and some of it is worse than others. It’s your story to tell or not.  I’m sorry that you had that experience though.”  After all, whatever happened for it to make touch more dangerous had to be heartbreaking.  “I mean, no one should feel like touch is dangerous. I mean, not all of it anyways. A little self-preservation is healthy.”

"And I'm okay with that," he said with a laugh, nodding his head. Sometimes, it was alright to be biased, if that bias came from a place of truly knowing what you were talking about. Which, he did like to think was somewhat true in this case. He knew whiskey, and he knew a lot of whiskey drinkers. And he knew that most of the time, he preferred to drink with them over people who were chugging PBR and shots at a bar -- although there was a time and place, because instances like this evening were fun, too. "There's a few," he admitted with a shrug. But that was just like any career -- you let it become a part of you, to an extent, and that meant that there were always going to be things that you picked up and took with you, whether or not you wanted to. "I'm sure there are things that you've picked up on from your job, too." It happened. But when she said that her version of demanding would make people laugh, he too, let out a laugh. "Just have to find your voice, that's all."

“As you should be,” Zarah said. “No one should ever let what other people think change them from being who they are and loving what they love.”  She didn’t believe in changing who you were to people-please.  In general, she preferred to be a live and let live kind of person.  If someone didn’t like something about her, their only real choice was to get over it because she wasn’t going to be a chameleon.   She nodded at his words, knowing they were true.  People did tend to influence people indirectly and when you were around people around them for the majority of their time you did tend to pick things up, just like people picked things up from them. “There have been a few things,” she confessed. “Mostly I pick up germs. If you’ve never worked in government office, you wouldn’t understand.  It’s like the air purifiers don’t work sometimes.”  She assumed lawyers didn’t really have that same risk.  Then again, she couldn’t really picture him in sweats and feeling lousy either even if she was aware that he was just as human as anyone else.  She let out a laugh. “Maybe so.  I’ll work on it.”

"I've often thought so," not just because he drank whiskey, but because he knew a lot of other people who did, and often found the conversation to be stimulating, interesting, but also knew that some of the people who favored a finger of whiskey could be a bit full of themselves, too. Maybe he fell into that category sometimes. Maybe he was okay with that. Rafael did find himself agreeing with what she said about investing money into something that you liked; life was too short to not enjoy the things that made you happy. People often said, 'you can't take it with you,' and he knew that was true. You either spent it, or left it for someone else. And who knew what would happen then. "I think it's a hazard of my career," he admitted with a light shrug. If Rafael didn't make demands as a lawyer, who would? How would anything get done? That was how he looked at it. "Maybe that can be your goal. Be a little more demanding of others."

“You might have a bit of bias there,” Zarah pointed out. There was a lot that could be said about an expert opinion though. She supposed it depended on how well he knew himself and if he preferred company that was similar to himself or different. If he mostly spent time with people he found similar, he could easily see those traits in others. There honestly no shame in any of it. As far as she was concerned everyone and everything had benefits and negatives, even personality traits. No one was just one thing. The world would have been a bit disappointing and one-note if that was the case. She might not be as well-off as he was. She’d grown up in a middle class family. She made enough to live reasonably. She splurged when she felt the desire. She didn’t honestly know what she’d do if she didn’t have to think about where her money was going but she did know that with or without that lack of limitations, she was going to live her life to its fullest. She would never begrudge anyone else who did. “There has to some sort of hazard,” she said with a nod. That was that balance at play. “I feel like my version of demanding would just make people laugh.”

Who: Jasmine and [Open] @merrock When: any point in September 25

I think that you can do as you wish. I mean, it's kind of a when you wish sort of situation. People start decorating for Christmas in November so you could have started with the Halloween decorations in July. At the end of the day, sometimes you have to start the trends you want to see.

"Like...hugs are enjoyable for you?" Chandler asked, playfully pulling a face. He couldn't remember a time he enjoyed physical contact, and the list of people he felt comfortable with in that regard was limited to two exboyfriends and his high school best friend. He considered himself mostly healed from his last relationship, which had been with an abusive partner, but he never quite opened up to the idea of letting any good friends in Merrock show physical affection towards him. "Are you talking like, before we come out? Cause I think babies come out with hearing and at least some vision."

“Yes,” she told him, tilting her head as she analyzed his facial expressions. “It’s honestly not that bad. I mean, sure – maybe you don’t to hug everyone but there is no one that you like to be touched by?” It was a bit of a stretch to go from math to this but it seemed like a valid question. The whole thought of running from an embrace seemed foreign to her. She knew that not everyone was her though. She tried to be understanding of that, tried to be respectful of the fact her boundaries were definitely not everyone else’s. She offered a light smile, nodding. “In the womb. Babies can feel before their eyes and ears develop. That’s what I meant. Hearing is definitely there before they come out and I know vision is probably not far behind. ”

"Or a good whiskey," he was, after all, a big whiskey guy. But Rafael didn't say no to any bottle of alcohol that was passed his way as long as it was good. He just had a fondness for whiskey and wine above the others, for the simple fact that wine was what he grew up on -- when old enough, of course -- and then whiskey was what he grew up on, so to speak. Once he was old enough to have fine taste and go after what he wanted. "Either way, sometimes it's worth it a little bit," he held up his hand, fingers just a tiny bit apart, and offered her a small smirk. Still, he didn't think that he could do what he did if he didn't have a little bit of a soul. Didn't have to be a lot, but something. "I wish that I could have that outlook, I just end up getting on the phone and demanding it be fixed. Politely, of course. Firmly. But politely."

“Whiskey drinkers are interesting,” Zarah said. “It’s a very traditional and sophisticated drink so it tracks for you.” She could definitely understand why that would fit for him. It didn’t take a genius to pick up on the general demeanor or personality of people. Even if Zarah knew people were far more than just one thing, she could feel who he was energetically. She couldn’t say that there was any one drink that matched with who she was. She didn’t have a go to. She just went with whatever felt nice in the moment. She supposed that was maybe something that came with time though, figuring out what someone liked above all other things. “If you have the money, it’s an investment into what you like. It would be hard to settle for less.” She supposed that there were plenty of valid reasons why someone might choose to not though. She laughed as she popped another chip in her mouth. “I don’t tend to get angry or demanding,” she confessed. “I’m sure there are times I’d be better served to be a bit more demanding. At least you’re polite demanding. Nothing wrong with knowing what you want and letting people know it.”

"Same." Taryn grinned. "I don't know when the last time was that I enjoyed this much alcohol in one sitting." she giggled softly before a hiccup came from her lips. "Oops." she giggled again.

“Would you remember it though?” Zarah asked raising an eyebrow. She definitely felt like a true sign of crossing into drinking to drunk was absolutely blacking out and not remembering anything past a certain point. She allowed herself to take a sip of her drink after she felt the glasses clang. “Or forgetting. I mean, lost memories are worthwhile sometimes.” She felt like there was a word there but at the moment she was coming up empty. It was all for the bed. She drank from her glass before extended it for a refill. “Thank you,” she offered. “You look nice too. Have you been having fun?”

"No, you probably wouldn't," he agreed with a shake of his head. Most people, with any common sense, wouldn't be terribly surprised to hear about the good, the bad or the ugly in the world. That was just the way that things worked. Especially now. "Expensive cars and even more expensive wine," he answered with a grin, as though he hadn't spent most of his life being accused of having no soul, of just living for money and wealth and power and fame and, honestly, not entirely wrong. But he liked to think there was a soul hidden down deep somewhere, at least. "Although I think we've all had those times where we pick up food or have it delivered and it's off -- the wrong thing, a smidge too cold, prepared wrong, and that can feel like the worst thing in the world."

There was definitely a way of things and she wasn’t going to try and change it. If anything, the comfort of the familiar but unexpected way the world worked was something she could trust. She let out a laugh when she heard him say expensive cars and expensive wine. “I feel like that is the popular rich kid answer though wine could easily be replaced with whatever their liquor of choice is. I mean, some people would prefer tequila,” she commented. She knew that there was definitely variations on a theme. She didn’t think there was anything wrong with people liking what they liked though. She nodded at him. “I’ve had that. If I can’t fix it by rewarming it then it probably wasn’t meant to be anyways.”

Who: Open! When: End of August Where: Anywhere How is it already the end of August? It feels like just yesterday we started June, and now, in the blink of an eye, we’re at the end of summer. I’ve been busy juggling obligations and trying to be prepared for my new position at the hospital while also trying to make the most of every moment this summer. Yet, despite my efforts, it seems like summer slipped away before I got a chance to fully enjoy it. How was your summer? Are you ready for fall and Creek Fest?

I am excited to be closer to Halloween but I also don't know about wishing the year away. If we blink it's going to be 2026. That is how time goes when you're busy though. That's pretty exciting though taking on new things. I'm sure you'll love it at the hospital. They have a really great crew. I enjoy dealing with them when I have to process paperwork through the fire department and have to get them to give me information. I'm looking forward to Creek Fest and fall in general. It's nice when it starts to cool a bit.

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.

Even if Zarah had never been a horse girl growing up, she appreciated them. She certainly never would want to cause harm to any of them but in this case things seemed to be okay. She definitely would have insisted on getting off and walking if she saw a hint of exhaustion or discomfort in the horse. She tended to pick up on energies so she didn’t think she’d miss it even if it was coming from a horse. “The round yards sound like a good start,” she said. It definitely seemed like they had a good plan there. She held on as she felt the horse start to move, steering its way out of the paddock toward the round yards. “I’ll keep my eyes peeled while you focus on sending us in the right direction,” she said keeping her eyes peering through the grass and walkways or anything that might stand out. “I’m going to owe you big time for helping out.”

"Agreed," Jayla nodded, happy to have found someone on the same page. This search would be much more fun with a friend, anyway. "I'm perfectly okay sitting here all night and waiting to see if we manage to spot anything." Jayla wasn't sure, though it felt less likely with the darkness, she hoped that something was visible out there. "How have you been enjoying the gala, so far?" she asked.

“I can be pretty patient,” Zarah admitted. She definitely knew plenty of people who couldn’t sit still long enough to appreciate the simple things like a sunset or a sunrise. Sitting there and watching to see if something popped up wasn’t a big deal. She laughed though, knowing full well she wasn’t going to spend her whole night there. “I’m pretty sure this will just be a slight detour before I go find something else to drink, maybe harass unexpected people,” she confessed. “It’s been a pretty good time though. What about your night? Having fun?”

"Yikes." Nicki's face constricted as he looked around like he might find the offender among the crowd. "You've got good reflexes. I'd hate to have seen shoes that pretty ruined." He made space for Zarah at the bar, motioning one of the bartenders toward her for a drink if she wanted one. He was used by now, to the gentle rock of the ship. "Oh, I'll be fine. I had an uncle that was big on sailing, used to take me and my siblings out on the boat during the summer."

“My reflexes are normally average at best but when when I start to hear certain sounds, I know to move,” she admitted. There was just something innate that liked to run the other way from it. She’d never been a fan and she was never going to be a fan. She took the offered space, giving her order to the bartender with a smile. If people couldn’t handle this, she hated to imagine how they’d handle being on a fishing boat in rougher waters. “This honestly isn’t anything,” she confessed. “My dad and brother are professional fisherman so I grew up on boats. Sailboats are pretty gnarly at times too though. I was actually thinking the water wasn’t too rough tonight. It’ll be fun to see who has the strongest stomachs especially when you add liquor into the mix.”

"Like the ability to move numbers around on a paper, but not the ability to make them stop moving?" Chandler replied with a smile. Her take on superpowers reminded him so much of what they had just been talking about and it was...weirdly refreshing to not be hiding it for once in his life. "I dunno. I've never been a huge fan of people touching me. Like sure, the power's definitely got some drawbacks, but that doesn't sound all bad to me."

“I mean, being able to move or not move at will would be a whole other ordeal,” she said with a sheepish smile. She knew that it would have been the more desirable option for most but it wasn’t like anyone really got to choose when it came these things. “I’m the complete opposite of you,” she confessed. “I’d be miserable if I couldn’t touch people. I mean, they say touch is the first language. We feel before we hear or see. I’m pretty fond of it.”