icxnvc

[icxnvc]

"You know I'm not good at decisions. That's supposed to be your job." Isak teasingly bumps his shoulder against Dov's before shyly grabbing hold of his bicep. The urge to grab his hand is rather high, but he shoves the urge down. It's easy to be comfortable in this position, in this proximity to Dov, but he doesn't want to let himself be too relaxed. Not yet. "Yeah, I'm trying not to, I just...don't fully know how to act? Which is making things weirder...sorry," Isak blushes brightly and covers his cheek with his free hand. "Surprise me. I trust you."

"I'm supposed to be making whatever you're in the mood for, silly." Dov replies, nudging Isak's shoulder lightly with his own. It wasn't like he had never cooked for Isak before and he knew what the other man liked, but if there was one ting Dov had learned it was that he shouldn't make any assumptions. "Consider it a fresh start then. Things don't have to be weird if we don't make them weird." He points out, shrugging. Either things were going to work out between them or they weren't. Dov wasn't going to keep going in circles and apologizing, he had done enough of that. It was up to Isak on whether or not he wanted to forgive him and move on. "So, what do you want for dinner? I figure we can get something for dessert around here too. Maybe a fruit tart or something."

[icxnvc]

"It's up to you whether you care or not, Ophelia," Jian rolls his eyes and thinks about walking away, but ends up merely stumbling one step back, "You started this conversation by being rude, so I won't apologize for being a little rude back." He shakes his head and turns to look at his feet with a huff of a sigh. Why he was even bothering to talk to her, he would never know. "I'm just gonna go."

Clearly not, she thought and now it was her turn to fight the urge to roll her eyes. She also didn't really know what that meant for him to have that sort of problem that completely derailed his career. If it was her, Ophelia would be beyond devastated to lose the thing she enjoyed doing the most. With a frown, she scoffed. "I wasn't acting but fine if you don't want me to actually care. Glad to see all of this didn't affect your attitude."

[icxnvc]

"i don't think it's humble, i think it's...i grew up in a high pressure situation and that doesn't leave you even once you leave it," he shrugs, "for exactly that reason. there's something about never being good enough, knowing that people are always going to catch up to you, and if you make a mistake you're...fucked. you start to doubt everything."

[icxnvc]

"Sounds good." Maybe he was being stupid, Isak was never sure, but it was easy to be stupid with Dov. Even with the odd tension between them, they knew each other, for the most part, it made things easy to overlook or forget and act like nothing negative had ever happened between them. "What do you want to make?"

"Yeah, we do. It's also just an odd position to be in...a first date with the guy your thought you were going to marry, you know?"

The farmer's market had seemed like a safe enough bet for an invitation out. He was hesitant to call it a date, though that's essentially what it was - or what he hoped it would be. "Dinner it is then." Dov was not much of a cook, but there were a few things he knew how to make well. He figured one of those things they could find the ingredients for for dinner.

It's cute the way Isak blushes and trips over his words, smiling back at him. "It's okay if you're nervous. I am too, a little. We both want this to go well, right?"

[icxnvc]

Isak immediately went wide-eyed at the comment. It wasn't an accusation, but for some reason it sort of felt like like one. The strained smile wasn't helping him. "Well, considering I only have one person in my life trying to do that," he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly while nodding, "Yeah. Dov and I dated for awhile." Isak supposed the rest of it was also true, Dov did seem to be trying to win him back, but this seemed like an odd thing to get too much into it. "It's nice to meet you."

Landon paused, the realization setting in. He suddenly felt a little awkward. This wasn’t exactly how he planned to meet his cousins ex. “Isak, huh ? As in the Isak my cousin is trying to win back ? ” Making a move to remove the old tyre, he glanced towards the other. He tried to give as friendly of a smile as he could manage, but it didn’t quite convey. “I’m Landon. Dov’s cousin.” He wasn’t even sure the other would know who he was. There was always the chance he’d never been mentioned.

[icxnvc]

Isak can't contain a little giggle watching Alice light up. She was genuinely one of the sweetest people he had ever met and one of the most difficult things in life was resisting the urge to give her a hug. Isak wasn't sure she'd really appreciate it, so he did his best to stick to compliments. "Aw no, please don't cry! This is supposed to be happy, we are only smiling today," he laughs. It was quite clear she didn't mean crying in a bad way, but Isak still didn't want to see her cry. "Aw, thank you, you're so sweet. I wish I was the sweetest guy ever, but I will accept it. As for revoking it...you'll have to do that yourself." Isak finds himself laughing more genuinely than he had in weeks and it felt incredible. "I went to dinner with my ex. Which was probably stupid of me. He wants to try again, potentially."

Alice's eyes light up when Isak compliments the cupcakes, even though it's commonplace online and offline it never fails to make her smile. Humble was a word used to describe Alice Evans a lot. She also takes his reaction as an ok to post the photo she took earlier to Instagram of her designs, of course promoting the flower shop in the process. He'll find that out later. "Y-You're literally going to make me cry—" her hand flutters in front of her face, her cheeks already a shade of pink as she laughs, "—I've been so brave today, too. I should have known I'm no match for the sweetest guy ever. I don't know who gave you the right but it needs revoking." She carries on chuckling, her eyes not spilling over which was a relief for her makeup. "Now we both know the baker and the florist would have been too powerful." She dabs under her eyes with the pad of her finger to make sure. "Dramatics aside, how've you been? Fill me in on, like, everything."

[icxnvc]

"I appreciate it." Isak hated feeling like he was causing problems, even if it was people doing their literal jobs. He was a bit of a mess. "I have been. It'll be under Isak Carroll. There's a slim chance it'll be under Danaisak, I can spell that if you need me to, but I don't think I would've done that." Isak realized he was rambling, and slowly shut his mouth as a blush crept up his face. "Sorry."

“It should only take fifteen minutes tops. It’s not a big job. You can wait in there if you want,” Landon points to the entrance, there’s a few seats next to the front desk. “But I will need your details for the system, and for your bill. Have you been here before ?” If he had, his details may still be in the computer. Though Landon wasn’t exactly the best at navigating that system.

[icxnvc]

isak leaned in a bit closer to the photo so he felt like he could judge it properly. though he didn't really need to see it to know that he was going to love it. "i don't think that's too much at all! first off, i love that they're doing a bilingual story time at the library. i'd love to do one in my first language, but there is not enough demand for that," he laughs, "i see what you mean. princess elena is a very identifiable character for kids, but are you teaching them about day of the dead? if so, i think you could absolutely do the sugar skull if that's what makes you happier."

open starter @chqstarter

0/4 - still currently accepting replies!

feel free to assume connections; rio has lived here their whole lives, is very social, and has worked at half the places around denver by now at some point ♥

" seriously, be honest. is this too much for bilingual storytime at the library for hispanic heritage month? i volunteered, and like, it's not halloween yet, but what if i dressed up... " flipping their phone around to show off an inexpensive enough cosplay of princess elena, rio's lips pursed to the side. " i mean, like, obviously i would half rather be a whole sugar skull, do a coco moment, but, i dunno. this could be cute, better for the kids. god, with that logic, i could be dora. that's a horror. why'd they make that live action, anyway. " returning the phone back to below their gaze, rio shook their head with a chuckle. " maybe skip the cosplay entirely? "

[icxnvc]

"uhm," jian blinked a few times in thought before shaking his head, "can't say i have. i think i'm more prone to listening to somebody say a bunch of good things about me, followed by an ounce of criticism and i will think about only the criticism for the next few weeks." that came from being an athlete that was judged based on perfection, he assumed. most people didn't have to deal with all that. "i think they are. i'm not sure it would be appropriate for me to comment on your looks, but yes."

anyone, anywhere + @chqstarter

"have you ever gotten insulted, but the other person tosses some compliments in there and it's all you hear?" asked reggie. "this morning, some middle-aged guy was yelling at me for some reason. he was yelling at me for like 15 minutes. but all i recall is that he said i'm good-looking, i clearly spend time on my everyday outfits, and my hair is shiny." beaming, he said, "those things are true, i think. i don't even care what else he said about me."

[icxnvc]

The festival was honestly a little too loud for Jianhong, who was feeling increasingly dizzy as time passed, but he was determined to go back to normal. Even if he had to feel worse first. "I'm not allowed to drink, and I'm pretty sure you're going to beat me anyway, so I'll make that deal. It sounds like a horrible deal to make, but sure."

open starter : @chqstarter ( open to 6 replies ) starter location : 8ball brewing co ( oktoberfest )

" hey, you wanna make a bet ? " chesire like grin slowly widens her smile, hazel hues sparkling with mischief. " if i beat you in a game of darts, " sypha nods their head towards the stall in question, " you have to buy my beer for the rest of the day. if you beat me, i'll buy yours. " rather than continuing to walk around glancing at everything there was to see, sypha wanted something a little bit more exciting — even if it was a, no doubt, rigged game stall that neither of them might win at. " you game for it ? "

[icxnvc]

Ophelia's sudden change in attitude did not go unnoticed, and Jian barely caught himself threatening to roll his eyes. If she - on the slightest chance - wasn't faking concern, he didn't want to seem like a complete jackass. "No. Medically retired wasn't exactly in my five year plan, but not much I can do about it now." He crosses his arms and does his best to actually look at her. "You don't have to act like you care."

Ophelia had always seen Jianhong as a show-off and too good at what he was doing. Perhaps some of it was sparked by jealousy, but Ophelia decided that he was just arrogant in her eyes. It was the only way she could rationalize her irritation at him. "Ah." His words caused her to stop briefly in her harshness. Swallowing thickly, she didn't know what to say after. "Are... I mean, is everything okay...?"

[icxnvc]

Isak had originally been a bit hesitant to accept Dov's invitation to the Farmer's Market, but he knew his hesitation was born from fear and if they were truly going to work on being them again, he needed to work past that fear. So here he was, walking alongside his ex, trying not to look as shy as he felt.

"Dinner sounds nice," Isak could feel himself blushing, "Uhm, either making it or going out...I - uh -," he pauses to laugh, "God, I'm making a fool of myself, tripping over my own tongue like this is a first date. Sorry, I don't know why I'm so nervous."

closed starter for @icxnvc (isak)

The Farmer's Market seemed like a safe enough place for their next date, if you could call it that. It was in a public setting and not too intimate, two things that Dov thought were good points. He was trying not to have too many expectations or too high of hopes, knowing he was still on shaky ground. "So I was thinking we'll get some stuff and I'll make you dinner? Or alternatively, we fill up on kettle corn and I buy you fancy lotion or whatever else you want." Dov didn't want to assume that Isak was ready to go back to his place yet, honestly okay with either option.

[icxnvc]

"I need time." He admits. "I still love you, I always will, but part of me broke when you left. Parts that I haven't fixed yet, and if I don't, it's going to lead to me not ever trusting you. That wouldn't be fair for either of us." Isak didn't know how to reply about Dov's parents, so he didn't. They still made him nervous, despite everything that had happened. "I'm half in. The half of me that has spent every night hoping you'd change your mind, but you're going to have to convince the other half."

"Being with you was never about spiting my parents." Dov replies, shaking his head. He loved Isak. He was in love with Isak. But if Isak didn't trust him or believe him, he wasn't sure what else he could say or do. "I understand. I'm laying all my cards on the table here, Isak. Whether or not you choose to put even a little bit of trust in me is up to you, and I understand if you need some time to think about it. But this is me, telling you I'm still all in if you are."

[icxnvc]

The look on Ophelia's face was obvious, even as Jian struggled to look at it. The harder he tried to make his eyes focus, the more dizzy it made him, so he forced himself to give her a sort of half-focused gaze to spare them both. "Yes, that's it," he scoffed, "I should be. I wish I was." The words were bitter, more spat out than spoken. Of course she didn't know, he shouldn't be surprised, it wasn't like they cared about each other. Even in the slightest of friendly ways. "Well, I would love not to, but this is where my doctor's are, so I'm shit out of luck."

Ophelia narrowed her eyes and let out a scoff. "You think too highly of yourself," she retorted as she bit her bottom lip. It probably wasn't healthy to be curious about someone she was annoyed with, but oftentimes, curiosity got the best of her. "Besides, I thought you'd be off some random place training for the Olympics or training some other Olympic hopeful." The last dig was laced with a bit more malice than she intended, but something about Jianhong had always grated on her nerves. "Can't imagine you'd actually settle down in a place for long."

[icxnvc]

Jian had spent the last few days at home, recovering from pushing himself too hard and having to deal with the consequences. Everything in life was two steps forward and ten steps back at this point. He was hardly paying attention to what was going on around him, let alone the happenings of other people. It took a long moment to realize somebody was talking to him and an even longer one to realize what they were referring to. "She looks very angry, I agree."

@chqstarter

Kayaan's eyes were glued quite carefully on what seemed to be a couple on the opposite side of the street, letting out a hum at the outbursts from the lady who seemed anything but joyful in these trying times. They had been going at it for a good five minutes now and yet it was still uncertain what had sparked the need to argue in the middle of a busy area. "Wonder if he cheated or sum, kinda looks the type if to be honest. Oh! Did she just call him a pig? Yeah yeah... he's screwed."

[icxnvc]

Yuzuru Hanyu: One Summer’s Day » 2023 Stars on Ice Japan: Oshu

[icxnvc]

Jian had been miserable since moving back to Denver - permanently this time - though he supposed he had been miserable before then too. He knew the town fair enough, at least the places he frequented between his home and just being around. His path now was a familiar one, walking home, past places that used to mean so much, bringing up memories he tried to forget. Trying so hard he didn't notice the people around him. "Shit, sorr - oh," Jianhong fell quiet with recognition, "I live here." It was blunt, but true. "I was. Now I'm not. Good to know you've kept up with my career." He rolls his eyes.

who: jianhong @icxnvc where: the green

It was just after rehearsals and Ophelia was cutting through the Green to grab dinner before heading home. She was physically tired which meant she was also not in the best mood. As she walked, head down, she bumped shoulders with someone. With a frown, she turned and rubbed her arm, about to apologize when she saw who it was.

"No way. I thought you were off waltzing around the world instead of being here in Denver," Ophelia scoffed. "What are you even doing here, Jianhong?"