aridhingra

[aridhingra]

Seemed like several people were of the same mindset, that the night before was for taking it easy, eating some good foods, and relaxing. Taking a sip of his non-alcoholic drink he settled himself down. "Think it's important just to keep your body relaxed to give it a break if you've been training." Ari had been training in between, nothing too extensive but enough, and the last minute rest before competing was essential in his mind. "Definitely would be shit luck to end up pulling a muscle or twisting something and you suddenly can't compete." Which he'd do a lot of stretching tonight before going to bed.

Throughly stoked for the event, JD had been training and getting in shape for the better part of the last month or so. Usually the day before an event he'd train to get in as much time as he could, but for this he figured relaxing was the way to go. "Same, taking it easy tonight," he nodded, "dont wanna risk a pulled muscle or twisted ankle so today is all about stretching and relaxing."

[aridhingra]

At Nari's words that there was any kind of bread he could hope for somewhere out there, he couldn't help but laugh. "I'm just hoping every kind of bread doesn't make its way here or I'm going to end up on a very dedicated carb diet to enjoy it all." Which wasn't exactly a bad thing, but not exactly the best thing either. "I will say I've ended up on the side of Tik Tok that has all these people making sourdough bread with all kinds of inclusions and I'm jealous that I'm not at home making my own but I've heard that getting a sourdough starter going is a bitch." At least that, once again, is what Tik Tok had convinced himself of. As he gathered a couple things in the area they were in, storing them in a little basket that someone had produced for him. While he had a general plan of things to get, it was like anything, he'd end up with some other things he didn't need but it was supporting local, so easy justification. "I wasn't on the Tik Tok train for the longest time but now I'll admit it's fun to scroll for a little bit but I still make sure to limit the time. I'm definitely not talented enough to be trying food blogs recipes."

"Oh, Ari," she let out a laugh, shaking her head, "trust me when I say: any kind of bread that you can imagine, someone makes." That could be said about so many good foods, people got very creative when they got into the kitchen, and then they turned around and made everyone at the farmer's market thrilled to have something new that they could try. Or at least, that was how it worked for Nari. She ended up with a ton of new, exciting foods that she needed to take home with her, whether she liked it or not. Or needed it, for that matter. "Yeah, that's true," she said with a smile, "there's something about using fresh, good ingredients that makes you feel like you're doing something right." And making something that was going to taste that much better, too. "Anything is better with chocolate chips, to be fair! It's like the little gift that just keeps giving," and tasted sweet and delicious, too, that was a good added bonus. "Mostly general -- but if I find something that ends up inspiring me, who knows, right?" Then she would change paths and figure it out after that. "Ooh, see, I try not to fall into the TikTok trap, but I do follow a few food blogs! It can be fun trying to recreate things!"

[aridhingra]

Getting out and involved in different town activities had been hit or miss for Ari. There were some things he had thoroughly enjoyed, there were others that had been nice but not necessarily his cup of tea. This though, getting to get into performance shape, prepping for what would essentially be a small marathon had been good for him in between time with his son and work. Tonight was about relaxing, letting the body rest before running the course the following day. As he settled down on a spot, drink in hand, he enjoyed the feel of the cool air on his face and the heat that casted off from the flames. "Hey." Ari turned to Jackson, "Competing, so resting tonight. Don't want to start tomorrow off on a bad note. You?"

Who: @aridhingra and JD

Where: The Challenge (beforehand)

When: May 2025

Though pumped for the obstacle course and all it had to offer, JD was also a bit nervous. He hadn't exactly competed in one of these things before, and though he was an athlete, he was still a bit nervous about it. Of course he wasn't about to tell anyone that, let alone let it affect him but still. Taking some time to relax the night before, he found himself down by the fire pit, sitting on one of the benches by it, just letting the flames flicker in front of him before realizing he zoned out. Shaking his head, he looked up and saw Ari nearby so he got up and joined him. "Hey," JD said reaching out for a handshake, "competing or cheering tomorrow?"

[aridhingra]

Ari was always going to be someone if he could stock up on straight from the source, he would. He enjoyed helping small farms and businesses, even though he was sure that quite a bit ended up at the local grocery stores -- and those were important too! This just gave him the ability to be out, get fresh air, get some fresher picks of what is in season. "Wait they have breakfast breads -- I'm trying not to leave here with six loaves of bread." he chuckled, but that did sound absolutely delicious. "Feel like we can always make things a little bit better when we have the fresh ingredients that they're using." Would it be as good at the artisans that were making it? No, not at all, but still, they could try. "I do love a good banana bread, especially if they have chocolate chips in it." Which now he was making a mental note to actually go back by the different booths of homemade breads. "Just general stock up on a lot of salad things or looking to make some specific ones? I'm not going to pretend the salads I've been making have probably been my favorite but not for everyone. I've been doing the whole tik tok trends of like sub in a tub, big mac salad, helps with the up in protein." he admitted, "Which I'm sure is far more boring to talk about."

Any Wednesday that she had free, she spent at the market, maybe grabbing something lunch, or a flavored lemonade to go with her shopping bag full of goodies. She had nothing against the grocery stores in town, of course, but getting your produce straight from the source was even better. "Oh!" her eyes widened at the mention of the bread, nodding her head eagerly, "they have so many kinds, like you can get those breakfast breads that have eggs and bacon baked into them?! Or dessert breads, or fruit breads, it's amazing. The best I can do is banana bread, and it's not as good as what they make here, I'll tell you that." But she could also completely relate to Ari on not being able to eat it all, and that was the trouble. "Mostly browsing and hoping not to struggle, yeah," she laughed, tucking hair behind her ear, "salad ingredients, mostly."

[aridhingra]

WHO: Ari Dhingra & @sunnynardelli

WHERE: Post Challenge

WHEN: May 2025

Getting out into the field, being able to compete, more with himself than anyone else on the field. Sure, he knew that several were competing against everyone else, that was the main point, but for him it was about pushing himself to do his best. He hadn't run any kind of obstacle course or marathon in quite sometime. As he made his way through the different tasks, some far harder, others easier Ari definitely found himself glistening in sweat, mud flaked and caked in different areas, but he felt good. By the time he crossed the finish line and slowed himself, taking deep breaths to allow the oxygen to refill his lungs. Hands on his knees he glanced up before spotting the familiar blonde hair, the glint of the sun almost illuminating it. A smile pulled to his lips as he straightened himself up, doing his best not to limp from all the running.

"We keep running into each other." A smirk tugging to his lips as he leaned against the barrier where those who weren't running could just watch. "Gonna start thinking you're following me, Sun." It really was just a joke as he accepted a bottle of water that was being passed to him. "Decided to be a cheerleader this go around." His breathing still heavily sated, "It's good to see you." Things had been busy over the last few weeks, but he'd admit he missed spending time with the bubbly blonde, and he hoped, somewhere inside, maybe she did too.

[aridhingra]

With a few reusable bags at the ready Ari found himself wandering the Farmer's Market. With the weather vastly improving, it meant he could go out and get more fresh vegetable and fruit for him home. Browsing the selection he reach forward to pick up a small container of rainbow potatoes, that would make for wonderful smashed potatoes. "Mostly produce, though I know they sell some pretty amazing things. I saw a stall that was making homemade loaves of bread and you have no clue how difficult it is not to buy like six of them. But one person can only eat so much sourdough." But if it came down to it, Ari would give it an honest try if needed. "What about you? Anything particular or browsing hope you don't have to struggle to fit everything into your bags to get them home."

WHO: Nari & OPEN!

WHERE: Farmer's Market, countryside

WHEN: any Wednesday in May

"It would be so easy to go broke on one pass through the market," Nari lamented with a soft sigh, picking up a small container of even smaller potatoes, looking them before before setting them back down, trying not to over buy. Then came the part of finding space to put everything and, of course, trying to use it all before it went bad. "What's on your list for the day, anything exciting that you're looking to take home?"

[aridhingra]

To @lucie-newman on Mother's Day,

Archie really wanted to make sure you got a few nice pieces for Mother's Day, all he needed me for was the credit card. Given that it's your first Mother's Day I am hoping those around you continue to spoil you for the day as well. We opted for something a little practical that think still would fit in your closet, Archie gave it a 10/10 when we looked at it. The last is a necklace for you to wear for mother and son, a special piece. I let him choose between gold, rose gold, and silver. He said this was more your when he grabbed it, sorry for the rip on the side of the box, he was very dedicated to this particular one.

Happy First Mother's Day,

Archie ( with help from Ari. )

[aridhingra]

Glancing over to the man that spoke that was near him. "I figure it must be, right? They wouldn't go giving the expensive, possibly bad for you to ingest paints to babies and toddlers. Would be really irresponsible on their part." Not only in the don't give little kids things that could harm them kind of way, but in the who would want to pay that kind of money for things that were just going to turn into a giant blob of a mess. "Slime." Scrunching his nose, "Why does that sounds worse than paint? All I can think about is once it's home and dropped on the ground all the dirt stuck up in it." There was a shake of his head, yeah that was far worse, "Plus he's not even a year old, slime to him will be thought of as let me stick that in my mouth as fast as human possible even for a baby. They get super human speed somehow at this age that we must eventually lose."

Oliver didn’t plan on spending his afternoon doing arts and crafts, but the other teachers had decided that they’d all do their part and contribute their time to earth week. And it would give him a chance to get involved. That was what he had intended, anyway. That part sort of sealed the deal. He was setting some paint and palettes aside and glanced over. “I think so,” he adjusted his glasses as he attempted to read the label. “Looks like this set is water-based,” he said. He really didn’t want to get anything on him. And for a child, it could be exponentially worse. “How about some slime?” He asked, nodding to the next station. “Or maybe stamping, that’s always a fun one,” he offered a small smile.

[aridhingra]

It was something Ari wanted to get used to, going to the different events that had family friendly activities. Now that he was fully settled into the town, properly making it his home, he also knew going to these so Archer got time with other little ones, he got to know the fellow parents of the town wouldn't hurt either. As someone came around to clean up a little bit of the messes that were left behind -- making a mental note to not be the parent that didn't help clean up the mess their child left -- he gave a small smile "Good thing since I'm not sure if he's getting more paint on the paper or on me at this rate." Knowing that a decent amount of little specks were being splattered onto his clothes, face, and hair. Would be pretty bad if this was permanent and he ended up speckled. Would make for a good laugh with his co-workers. Glancing down at his son, "Trying to keep his hands out of his mouth right now... it's nearly impossible. They should make that an Olympic sport with babies. Run after them and keep everything out of their mouth who can last the longest without collapsing. And let me tell you, Archie, he enjoys getting into things. New favorite hobby, huh?"

No, Livvy didn't have a child of her own to bring to the arts and crafts table, but that wasn't going to stop her from volunteering to help out. She could remember being a little girl and wanting to do all of the projects -- leaf pressing, painting her idea of what the earth should look like, learning how to draw different animals and flowers... and if she could help other kids realize how much fun that was, then that was exactly what she was going to do. Or, well, she thought. Truth be told, most of the time was spent cleaning up little messes so that the people in charge of arts and crafts could do the actual teaching, but at least she was using eco friendly cloths to clean up to the non-toxic, washable paint from the tables! That had to count for something! "It is, don't worry," she assured him with a laugh, pointing to the spot that she was cleaning, "can you imagine what this table would look like if it wasn't?" Although a rainbow colored table might look cute, make everyone feel even more in the arts and crafts vibe. "But! It doesn't taste good, so just make sure those fingers stay out of your mouth, little guy."

[aridhingra]

"Who said I have a death by freezing wish? Just because I did the polar plunge and then proceeded to fall during a snow storm and injure myself absolutely doesn't mean that." Alright, so if you didn't know better, you'd think maybe a tiny bit he might have had some kind of death wish. "Next year I'm just going to have to get you to join in on all the fun of jumping into a freezing ocean and awaken that side of you." Would he drag her kicking and screaming, no, but it'd be fun to attempt to change her mind over the next several months if he could change her mind, persuade her in a different way. "Not always, some people are more discreet in their showing if they want something from someone. Sometimes people love to know or hear things verbally." Plus there was the idea of knowing someone wanted something that was just nice to hear. But to be fair, he wasn't exactly the show it from the rooftop kind of person either. Which could pose a problem if they were both hinting around something and both came off as the type to wait until so obvious that even then they couldn't see it because they thought they were being just that. Far more complicated than Ari wanted to think about, he already had a dull headache that was going to last, he didn't need to make it worse by letting his head swim with what ifs, and other questions.

Falling into an easy but comfortable position between the two of them, he had to admit, he enjoyed it. It was nice to just be close to someone else that wanted to be there. The darkness definitely had changed that when they both reacted, "Shit." he breathed out, "That's definitely not coming back on right away." If there was one thing he learned was that any kind of bang that could be a transponder going, wasn't going to be an immediate fix. Especially with the storm still on going. "True, we're definitely in a better position than some that are out stuck in this..." He admitted, and he was kind of glad that he wasn't, had he not been injured, he'd probably still be out there attempting to help until his toes and fingers were frozen to popsicles. Thankful for the electric candle he grabbed the couple of small remotes and pressed the button turning the first set on, then the second, and finally the third that gave them a fairly decent candle glow that at least made it so they could see more than an inch in front of their face. "So we've got blankets, food, water, there's also alcohol over there if you get really tortured by spending time with me." A chuckle left his lips, "We can play some games, figure we'll save the laptop for when we get desperate for entertainment." While it had been fully charged it was one of those things that it only had a finite amount of battery charge. "Or whatever you feel like doing, not like we're going anywhere anytime soon." As he glanced out the window seeing the snow come down heavier than ever.

Sunny wouldn’t have told him something okay if it wasn’t. It wasn’t even just a him thing. She truly felt like anyone would have been welcomed at her place. They’d always been the kind of roommates that welcomed people in. She couldn’t count how many times they’d let people crash on their couches. She had always liked having people around but that was the sort of environment she’d grown up in. As a little girl, her dads had always had their friends over. Anyone and everyone was always welcome. She tended to operate under the same plan. As far as she was concerned, there never had to be a reason to see someone beyond that you wanted to. She might not have been thrilled about the weather but she was happy to be there for Ari. At the end of the day, that was all that really mattered. “Not all of us have a death by freezing wish,” she remarked. She hadn’t quite forgot his polar plunge not that there was really much comparison aside from the fact they were both cold. “I’m pretty content being warm regardless of where I’m rolling around.” Banter or not, she knew that the difference in a booty call text and a normal one. She didn’t really picture Ari as the type of guy who sent the ‘you up?’ kind of texts because they were bored. If anything, she could carry on light banter with him because it wasn’t threatening. There weren’t glowing red danger signs above his head. If anything he was full of green flags and she worried she might be the red flag. “What would be the fun in that?” she asked. “I mean, I feel like it should be pretty obvious if someone wants it.” If she had to ask for it, how could she ever be sure it was what he really wanted? No. She wasn’t an ask for it sort of girl. She was a wait until it was painstakingly obvious kind of girl.

“It’s not all a bad thing then. I mean, sure it sucks being bruised but eventually it’ll start to heal and it’ll just be you enjoying time off with Archer or whoever else you want to spend your time with.” There were definitely times in life when the universe took it upon itself force you to slow down and appreciate something other than work. Maybe that was the era he was in. She had no doubt he’d figure all of that out though in the end. For now, she was more or less amused to just be there in this moment. “I’d offer to help you but somehow I think that wouldn’t have the same effect,” she mused. She knew he’d have to sort out the whole changing of clothes maneuvering around his arm thing and maybe before she did go home, she would actually have to help him with some of that. She certainly felt like she was comfortable enough for the time being, even amused with the way his eyes had scanned over her. “It’s okay though. I mean, if it distracts you from the pain then I’m doing exactly what I set out to do.” It didn’t matter what was fair and what wasn’t fair. It wasn’t as if they weren’t going to bury themselves under blankets anyways. She was pretty content with being there close to him anyways. She’d always been a touchy kind of person and she felt the most comfortable when she was right there with someone, especially someone she trusted. She might as well be comfortable. Besides, with all the conversation it wasn’t the easiest to pay all that much attention to the movie anyways. She did try though, her focus on the screen while her fingers drew invisible shapes on his chest through the fabric of his shirt. The sudden darkness did make her jump a bit. “I’m good,” she said with a bit of a nervous laugh. “Probably better than half the town. I mean, they’re at least not safely buried in your blankets.”

[aridhingra]

With Archer firmly in his lap, he shifted grabbing his own brush and attempting to make little strokes in the different areas of the picture they had in front of them. Not that it was going to do much as Archie smashed the brush into the paper and smeared it just as he was essentially learning fine motor movements. He knew he wouldn't actually be able to do anything artistic till he was a little bit older, if he was even interested in the creative side of things. Ari certainly wasn't the most creative. "I'm hoping so." he said reaching up running his fingers through his dark thick hair, "I can feel paint splatters in my hair from him waving the brush around like it was a magic wand." he rolled his eyes before laughing.

Nima certainly wasn’t the craftiest person in the world, though something about arts and crafts was calling his name. He figured that he could hypothetically make something that would hopefully appeal to his daughters—plus, if it turned out to be terrible, he figured it wouldn’t exactly matter because they were three and two. He dipped his paintbrush in his palette before glancing down at his page; he wasn’t quite sure what it was that he’d started to make, but it was abstract, seemingly. That had to count for something, right? At a sudden voice, he glanced upwards, smiling slightly at the voice. “I think you should be fine. I’m sure it is. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t, but this seems pretty kid-friendly so it must be washable, I think.”

[aridhingra]

Of course for only nine months old, Archer was more apt to be holding the brush and waving it around in the air which was definitely getting flecks of paint into his hair and on his clothes. "You know he tries, we're working on tapping into what his creative spot will be, you know? I'm not sure if it's going to be painting, unless it's more in the abstract." he admitted. When she said it was washable he laughed, "Good thing, I'm getting as much paint on me as he's getting on the paper of the world." he said shaking his head. "We may have to move onto something different but part of me thinks the way he's gripping the brush that could be dangerous."

Since Kennedy's ideal afternoon off would always include a bit of creativity, she decided to volunteer at the Arts and Crafts station. She wasn't the type to lay out step-by-step instructions for crafts, but she could lend a hand with any accidental spills or cleaning up a station when it was empty. Capping some of the palettes left open, her eyes moved to where someone was talking to the boy, and she gave a friendly smile to them. "He's quite the little artist," she laughed softly, as she took a look at the paint for a moment. "Pretty sure you're safe there, it's washable, and non-toxic. So, thankfully, it's kid-friendly. There are some other options, though, if you want something less messy."

[aridhingra]

Who: Ari Dhingra & open ( with Archer )

What: Arts and Crafts

When: Earth Week in Merrock

If there was one thing he planned on doing was getting to spend time with his son during Earth Week. Given that Ari loved the outdoors, and most of his life was spent outside appreciating the finer pieces of nature meant that he wanted his son to experience those things. Of course given he wasn't even a year old, was just becoming mobile, and all too curious, the best he could think of was taking him to arts and crafts. Sure, unless he was the next Picasso, the work wouldn't be great, but it gave him time to work on his hand coordination while having fun messing paint and scraps all over the little spot. Settling in he grabbed all the things, settling the little boy in his lap before grabbing a few supplies. "Are you gonna try painting?" He cooed to the little boy who babbled 'babababab' as if he was trying to talk right to Ari. "Yeah? Is that so?" Ari laughed as he shifted to help the little boy hold the paintbrush before dipping it into the paint and using his little hand to drag it across the paper as he heard his son giggle. "I really hope this paint is washable because 10 to 1 he's going to shove his hands in it the second he has a chance.

[aridhingra]

TASK #26 THE NON-PLAYABLES

Ramesh Dhingra; Ari's Father

TRIGGER WARNING: for this character there are mentions of infertility, extreme depression, and death.

Born in Northern India, Ramesh moved to the United States in his teen years with his parents when his own father received the opportunity as a job in New York City. Adjustment was hard at first, often cruelly teased based on his accent -- though he spoke English just fine, thanks to the requirement in school. Still he persisted and eventually found his spot in town. He made friends, had relationships, and he realize that moving to America could be such a good thing.

On a school trip to New Orleans was when he met Fatima, a woman who he was smitten with at only fifteen. She was a tour guide working for a little extra money while saving up to go to college, and he was on his school trip wanting to be a little wild and have some fun. Little did he expect to meet not only the love of his life, but his soulmate. During the time there he stuck close to woman, even convincing her to give him his own personal tour after they had turned into the hotel for the night.

Ramesh hadn't been afraid of risks, his friends willing to cover for him when he snuck out of the hotel. By the end of the trip, the idea of leaving felt like it was crushing his soul, but they exchanged numbers and addresses and promised to keep in touch. Which is exactly what they did, written love letters, conversations lasting in the wee hours of the morning, and he knew this was the woman for him. His parents thought it unconventional but they were full believers that this move had brought him to his soulmate even if he was still young. Even though they didn't go to school together, Ramesh still considered themselves high school sweethearts, just ones that were long distant, but they were "together" the whole time even if it meant only by phone calls and written letters.

After graduation he relocated to New Orleans, and their long-distance relationship became them moving in together and engaged not long after. Some might have thought it was fast, but they had been building to this over the course of the last few years and his mother had told him, when you knew, you knew, and never to second guess it.

After marriage, fertility problems plagued the couple, finding out it wasn't just on his part, but that his wife would never be able to carry a child. Still when she fell pregnant with Ari, they had already been in the middle of getting their licenses to foster children, to them it was a sign. A blessing that was allowing them one child but that they could take in a world more that needed it. If you had asked him back then he would have adopted every child that came through their home, having enough love and warmth to give each one, no matter how crowded it became. He worked a good job, in IT, and so did his wife.

After Ari was born he decided to relocate to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for a better job, and the ability to have a bigger home. They would need the space, and he kept to his word, he loved every child that came into their home just as much as if they were biologically his. Eventually, much to his happiness, it lead to the adoption of two children, his other pride and joys, never once treating them differently than his biological son.

When tragedy struck, the man Ramesh once was, was no longer. He began missing work, became a shell of himself that no one in the family recognized. The pain of even waking up was becoming unbearable, and he neglected his responsibility as a father. As time went on, he got worse, barely moving, eating, until his broken heart finally took him, and put him where he wanted to be, back with the love of his life, buried next to her for all of eternity.

Fatima Persaud; Ari's Mother

TRIGGER WARNING: for this character there are mentions of infertility, car accident, drunk driving, and character death mention.

First born American citizen, Fatima was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was loud, crazy, busy, but even from a young age she found a love in the bustling city that raised her. Her parents were by no means made of money, they lived in a two bedroom apartment and barely scraped by. There was no denying Fatima was a beauty, deep skin that almost had an inner glow, wavy, thick, dark hair, and eyes that you swore could see into your soul -- even from a young child. Many couldn't put their finger on it, but people would always say, she was special. She was kind, generous, loving, even from a young age, no matter how much their family struggled to get by it never bothered her, she was content in the happiness she found.

Never one to shy away from hard work she started working as a tour guide at the mere age of fourteen -- you could skate by with jobs that paid under the table to show people around New Orleans. When she was fifteen she was given the chance to give a tour to a school that was visiting all the way from New York City, and she had to admit she was captivated by the idea of people that came from the big city. Sure, New Orleans was a big city but it was still vastly different than something she had read about and heard stories about. It was there that she met a charming teenager, Ramesh, and she couldn't help but be swept up in the idea of him. There were nights he would spend sneaking out of the hotel where his class was staying and her showing him what the city was like at night time. The next few years were spent in a long distant relationship handled between phone calls, love letters, and only visiting a few times through those years, but despite it being young love they were both smitten with each other.

Her parents had a little harder time believing it was true love, she was young, she'd be going off to college, and didn't need a relationship when there was so many people to meet. Fatima went to school to become a nurse, wanting to continue helping people in a field that was vastly under-appreciated but she loved every moment as he worked her way up, managing to become a nursing manager. During that time not only did she finally manage to have their first born son, Ari, they made the decision to foster children who needed the love and care she knew they could provide. Fatima always knew the point of fostering was the hopes of reunification with their biological parents, and as much as it hurt, she loved hard and let them go when it was time. Until two children through the years came through and needed a place to stay forever.

Despite having a decent job, as did her husband, they lived up to their means, especially when the amount of children in the house could fluctuate anywhere between three to seven depending on what was needed at the time. With her son's birthday just around the corner she had picked up extra shifts working in the actual hospital floor to save up for a trip she knew Ari was desperate to experience. It was on a rainy night on her way home from a second shift that Fatima was killed in a car crash from a drunk driver. Dying on impact her death would go on to rock the world of her husband and children for the rest of their lives.

Archer "Archie" Dhingra-Newman; Ari's Son

FYI: This is an active plot within the game, so this is just a general overview of what is known about the little boy in game.

Born July of 2024, Archer was the biggest surprise to ever come into Ari's life. He's now starting to crawl, move around, and brings an ever crazy amount of light to the man's life. To put it simply the little boy is Ari's life. He's curious, inquisitive, has his mother's fiery personality but has taken several of Ari's physical attributes like his hair, his smile, and his nose. He loves seeing that he is a perfect blend of two people that were only meant to be together for a fleeting second in time. He doesn't know what the future will bring for Archer, who he will become, what he will love, but you can already tell by the little one that he is going to be a handful, but in the best way. Archer is the reason Ari has learned he loves being a father and may want more kids in the future, with a future partner.

[aridhingra]

There was insistence that he wouldn't have been a problem coming over to her place, and he took that as an actual invitation that someday she would have him over to her place. Ari couldn't say he was the type to show up uninvited either, now some causal dropped hints he could probably pick up on. But that was for another day, today he was only focused on them getting to hang out in the throngs of a bad snowstorm. All in all, there could have been worse situations for them to hang out, at least they weren't stuck out in the snow or something like that. Right now all she had to do was look at a banged up face, definitely worse options, at least Ari thought so. Plus with the ways the lights were flickering, he assumed they'd be living life by candlelight soon enough. "Glad you're not planning on rolling around in the snow, because unfortunate for you, I wouldn't be able to save you if you met your untimely demise against it." Gesturing to his bad arm. "Would be really shitty timing, so we'll just save any kind of rolling for other places." He could pretend to say pity but really, he wasn't looking to be around any kind of snow if he could help it. Snow was the present enemy. "You might be into it huh? If you're suggesting we test the theory of how breakable I am, all you have to do is ask." They were towing a dangerous line between flirting and possibly putting some really statements out there. Something he hadn't done in a decent amount of time, and the thought made him a little dizzy, not because he didn't mean what he was saying, but because he didn't want her to think this was what he thought of her, or the reason he had texted her, to push the boundaries. Still, she made it all too easy to tempt.

"Thankfully I'll just need some downtime from my part-time job, I mean sure the snow will keep me from both of them at the moment, but I've been on strict orders that going back and doing the whole park ranger thing, is a no go right now." Something he was pretty sure he could have figured out himself, but there was a crisp doctors note tucked away in his work bag to make sure all bases were covered. Raising a brow as she pulled off her sweatshirt, leaving her in a tank top that hugged her body, causing his eyes to scan over her. "Now that's not fair, I can't do the whole pull my shirt off over my head so easily in attempts to make you drool. Which means you're basically playing an unfair game." Once again gesturing to his arm that not going to allow him to easily just pull his shirt off over his head. "But please, if you're intending on getting comfy don't let me stop you." Now that he was comfortable, surprising given he was on the floor, he glanced up at the blonde, patting the spot next to him. "Very comfortable, and I'm warm yeah, if I get cold we have enough blankets at the end to warm up with." As the blonde got comfortable he started with a movie on the television, since it was far better than his smaller screened laptop, he noticed her resting her hand on his chest as he settled more against the pillows turning slightly, realizing they were more getting lost in their conversation. Sometime by the middle of the movie the lights flickered again before there was a loud bang that had even Ari flinching and then all the lights disappeared leaving darkness between. "Well...at least it wasn't anti climatic the power going out." Rolling his eyes as he shifted a little closer, "You good?"

There were some things that took time. Getting to know people’s past and inner workings was one of those things. It took time to know a person and even then what they said and when they said it depended on the person. Sunny didn’t consider herself a particularly closed off person. She had no problem talking about her life but there were some things that she wasn’t exactly going to volunteer unless directly asked or if it came up in conversation, just like she knew other people would do. There was zero doubt that he’d be welcome at her place. She doubted he would do anything that would really offend her roommates. They were all adults who accepted whoever people brought into their home. “It’s honestly not,” she said honestly. “I mean, we’re pretty open to people coming over and hanging out. I wouldn’t recommend going through the drawers in their rooms or anything but the shared rooms and my room are fine.” If anyone had something to say, they could take it up with her. She raised an eyebrow, smiling when he said that even banged up, he could still handle her. She didn’t think it required more explanation for what either of them meant by it. “I don’t have plans to roll in the snow any time soon,” she felt a need to tell him. She was towing the line between saucy banter and something else. “Who is to say I wouldn’t be willing to follow through? I might be into it. By all means, let me know thought."

To be fair, she had thought about it. She’d tossed and turned plenty of nights in recent weeks thinking about missed opportunities. A part of her wondered if she’d inadvertently had slipped into his mind as well though she had to keep telling herself that he was just being friendly, bantering back to her. If he’d wanted to actually do something about it, he would have right? Wasn’t she giving him all the signals that she’d reciprocate? “You’ll have some down time before you properly go back to work and I can always make time for you,” she told him. There wasn’t any judgment here. She definitely wasn’t going to kink shame. She wasn’t so sure anyone who did delivery was out working in this mess though and even if they were, she wasn’t sure that they wouldn’t have judged being sent looking for a costume in this mess. Where was anyone even going? “I mean, if you’re wanting a show,” she murmured, pausing to tug off the sweatshirt she had on, tossing it to a chair revealing the tank top that showed off more of her curves underneath. She had dressed in layers for warmth but she was inside now and with all the blankets she’d inevitably run hot always. If he wanted to see a little skin, she could at least managed that. She knew to appreciate it now before the inevitable power outages occurred. The flickering of lights meant it wasn’t a matter of if but when. There was no use in worrying about it. She watched him leave before she could argue about him grabbing his laptop, all she could do was accept this fate. She allowed herself to sit comfortably against the pillows and surrounded in the warmth of blankets, content with the spot she’d made for herself next him once he was sat. “I might have some expertise in living room sleepovers but also yes. Are you comfortable? Warm?” She offered a small smile, turning on her side a bit to better look at him a hand resting on his chest a bit as they chatted.

[aridhingra]

He swore he saw a sparkle in her eyes when he said that he wanted to have her there. Ari wasn't privy to much of her past, not that they would have those kind of conversations, given Ari wasn't even sure what any of this was. It was obvious, to him, that he was flirting with her but he was sure there were plenty of people that just flirted because they enjoyed being flirted with. This wasn't a time where he was going to make a fool of himself, at least not too much, and ruin what friendship they had built in the last several months. At her invitation to visit her at her place he raised a brow, "I'll keep that in mind, I mean I really don't want to take up space when your roommates may not appreciate it." Even if she was saying that her roommates lived their own lives and wouldn't mind. "Feels very much like a girl domain that they may not want me entering in on." Even if that probably wasn't the case. A laugh erupted from his lips, "I may be banged up, Sunny, but that doesn't meant I couldn't handle you." What Sunny eluded to was something Ari himself couldn't pass up either. "Don't make a threat if you have no plans on following through, I'm a lot harder to break than you think -- unless you're going to cover yourself in snow, then you know, maybe you have a shot at breaking me." Giving a roll of his eyes towards the woman. "Plus it depends on the breaking, ask me again later."

"Fair, I get that, you weren't thinking but you know I may have to take a peek at these costumes sometime, I'm taking that as an offer." Since she had said she'd be willing to if it made him feel better, and who was he to turn that offer down? Only an idiot would do that. "Hey, this is a no judgement zone, what I purchase on Doordash is not to be judged, and now they have stores on there, not just food." He pointed out, "It may be a lot harder to find an outfit not around Halloween time but I bet we could have made it work, the weather on the other hand definitely would have put a hinderance to it either way." Plus he wasn't actually going to make her prance around in a nurse outfit just because she was there to take care of him. A smirk played on his lips hearing her mutter close to under her breath but still loud enough he could pick up on things. A sigh left his lips as the lights flickered, "They'll last awhile, I have extra batteries we can put in them if they start to die out, I've not used them a ton. Plus then if we go through all of those and batteries, I do have regular candles." Not his first choice just fro a pure safety point, but if they needed it they would have them. Moving over her cranked up the heat a tiny bit, wanting it warm enough in the room for what was proving to be inevitable with the power going out. "Think right here we could put down all the blankets, make a big enough space there's enough of them in those boxes, extra pillows, and then we'll be able to stay warm." He offered, "I'll grab my laptop and my charger pack, feel like we may have to settle with whatever movies we can get on my laptop." Eventually the power was going to fail them. Making haste before she could say anything he returned, "Okay I now give you the power to boss me around, make me rest, do whatever you want with me for the rest of the night." As he shifted and moved to the several blankets now laid out on the floor making enough of a cushion that it didn't feel like laying on the floor and tossing a few more on top. Warmth would be the most important thing at the end of all of this. He smiled when he noticed how a bunch of pillows had been stacked up making it easier for him to lay back. "You're pretty good at this, you take people often or am I just special?"

It felt good to be wanted. Sunny would have been lying if she said it didn’t feel good to hear someone say that in a world of there being plenty of other options out there she was the one person he’d wanted to talk to. Even if it was truly as simple as just being the first name he saw or something around him making him think of her, she liked to hear it. She couldn’t allow herself to read more into it. It would have been entirely too easy to take it at face value and allow her mind to race to a place where he was thinking of her for the same reasons she found herself thinking of him. She’d spent far too long developing self-protection mechanisms to let her brain go there. If she put it out there and then she was stuck at his place, she was pretty sure she would have died of mortification. She liked his company though and as long as he wanted her there, she was going to be pretty content to be there. “You do know, you’re welcome to drop by my place as well, right?” she asked, biting her lip for a moment. “I mean, Stelly and Sylvie are out living their own lives half the time and even if they were there they’d no mind.” She shook her head, amusement on her face all the same though. “I don’t think you could handle me right now,” she mused, giving him a pointed look, playfully letting her eyes rake over him. “I’d break you and then it would make taking care you super awkward. You wouldn’t want me to break you would you?”

“It wasn’t a high priority with the weather,” she admitted unable to not laugh at the thought of it. It was ludicrous really. She definitely had a closet of eclectic costumes from years of parties and events that she could have put to use. She tended to not break them out in everyday life. Besides, they were mostly messing around, right? “I think that you’re just going to have to take what you got today but if it makes you feel better, I’d model any outfit if it’ll help the healing process. I don’t even think they sell those on DoorDash. What kind of places are you ordering from that sell things like that, Ari?” She couldn’t help but tease, even though she felt pretty confident he wasn’t ordering anything weird there. He was probably like anyone else who ordered entirely too much takeout versus picking it up. She nodded at his instruction of locations, sighing at the fact he was refusing to just let her lift things. What good was she if he wasn’t going to properly rest? She didn’t want him to over o it. She could definitely do as instructed. “You’re going to be the death of me,” she muttered as she went toward the closet grabbing the supplies they’d need and moving back to set everything down and organize it in the living room so they could be comfortable and warm. “We’ll see how much you want to see me after being stuck with --" she started to say before the lights flickered, making her loose her train of though. "Guess it's a good thing you have battery candles. How long do you think we have with them?"

[aridhingra]

Brows furrowed when the woman in front of him said about the medication the hospital had given him that had him text her about being injured. Yes, they had given him some medication, mainly because they hadn't wanted to keep him overnight and risk him getting stuck in the hospital for longer than needed -- they needed those spaces in case of real emergencies. A few broken bones, bruises, and cuts was not on that list. "I didn't need medicine to want to text you, Sunny. I texted you because you're the first person I thought of that I wanted to talk to." Maybe it was a bit too much information to give out at that time, after all she was just arriving to his place. Which thankfully had more than enough space in case she didn't want to be surrounded by him the whole time -- nor would he expect her to be around him at all times. There was a spare bedroom, extra blankets, and he had books and all other things to keep her busy if she found herself bored of him. Anything was possible, wasn't it? "But trust me I'll make a mental note you don't need me injured to come see me." Tapping his temple as if he was making a mental note of that, not that he planned on getting injured anytime soon again. "Oh do you? Isn't that up for others to decide some things you do well?" Quipping because he couldn't just let her have that too easily. A smile tugged to his lips, "I like the sound of that, take that for what you will." Giving a casual shrug of his good shoulder and moving into the open concept living room.

"Oh, oh, missed opportunity, Sunny. You have a nurses costume and didn't think let's show up in one when planning to take care of an injured man? That's just too bad." Since he obviously wasn't going to suggest that she go back out into the bad weather. "Think Doordash would find it weird ordering one?" A smirk on his lips, "I'm kidding, by the way." He'd never put her in a position that made her dress in something she wouldn't want to wear, he was just trying to make light of the situation, while also possibly hinting that he found the woman in front of him attractive. He wasn't good at this, relationships, in any capacity -- let alone figuring them out. He often deemed himself more of a hinderance for people he started to care about. If his previous relationship showed anything about his ability to understand people or read things incredibly wrong. "The closet down the hall on the left, you should find an obnoxious amount of blankets, pillows, the works to turn this into the coziest place to stay, at least for the time being." he offered, "But let me at least grab a few things, I promise you can boss me around to stay in our comfortable little bed area we make thereafter." At the mention he would do the same for her, his head dipping down close to her ear, "You're right, I would do the same for you, but you don't need to be hurt for me to want to see you either." Before pulling back and heading down into the kitchen area to grab the box filled with battery operated candles and starting to set them up around the area.

If Sunny were honest, she wasn’t good at being trapped anywhere. The idea of being trapped at her own place wasn’t any more attractive than being trapped elsewhere. She wasn’t good at being alone. Even though, she hadn’t been in any sort of official relationship in a long time, she was always surrounded by people. She had roommates because if she’d lived on her own she would have lost her mind. Sylvia and Stella had their own lives though and there were no guarantees they would have been around to keep her from going absolutely insane trapped in the snow. There was also the small factor that she had started to become close to Ari over recent weeks. It was more than a passing casual acquaintance situation. She wasn’t quite sure what to label what he was to her. She’d spent plenty of days recently kind of hoping he’d text her. She never would have wanted him to have to get hurt in order for him to feel like he needed to reach out though. “I never wanted to see you get hurt either,” she confessed. “I mean, I’m glad that whatever drugs the hospital gave you made you want to reach out to me but you definitely didn’t have to get hurt to see me.” She hoped that if anything, being there in this moment let him know that she wanted to be there. She was going to be there in whatever capacity he desired her there. She laughed softly despite the seriousness of the moment. “Listen, I do everything well,” she said unable to resist the comment. It probably wasn’t the most appropriate but there was little to not resisting even now. "In all seriousness, I can't promise to not do it again. If you need me. I'm here."

There was literally no chance of her leaving. Even if she wasn’t sure about a million things when it came to Ari, she knew he was a good guy. He wasn’t going to lure her there only to kick her out. Even if he didn’t want to be around her, he’d find somewhere to let her stay that would be safe from the elements. If she were perfectly honest, she tended to keep her feelings close to her chest. She was proof in life that no matter what role models you had, you could still grow up with self-doubt. She’d been burnt too many times by developing feelings for people who only saw her as a friend or didn’t even see her as that. Flirting with someone didn’t always mean there was something more there. Lord knew she flirted with plenty of people that she wasn’t about to take home. She had learned long ago to not read too far into it. “I actually have one in the closet from a party a few years back,” she confessed mirroring his grin. “I suppose you’ll just have to use your imagination for now.” She nodded at the options of his collection or something digital. “We can figure something out.” She wasn’t really that stressed about it. She also wasn’t complaining about his hand at her back. “You tell me where to look and I can grab whatever we need. I’m supposed to be the one taking care of you. You don’t have to thank me for this. If the roles were reversed, I know you’d come be my nurse.”