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  santa monica pier !!

she’s a little bummed to be working while everyone else at the pier seemed to be having a lot of fun. rosie’s been looking forward to locals’ week for a solid month, and being told to cover the first day was just brutal ; still, she tells herself, she could afford to dedicate a few days to work and just catch up on the festivities later. her grip tightens around her notebook and pen, just a little, as she approaches someone at random ( the better to ignore the urge to gawk at every stall ) . “ excuse me, hi !! i’m doing a piece on locals’ week. would you mind if i asked you a few questions ?? ”

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Anna de Noailles, from "The Offering To Nature" in Poems

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she exhales a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, relieved that the stranger seemed to take her words at face value. “ mm, the music’s really good !! and the other thing — that sounds like a plus, too. people in regular bars are kind of . . . pushy. ” being closeted unfortunately meant that she was speaking from experience, but rosie was grateful that it helped her ruse. she settles into the seat, smiling slightly — she’s a little bit calmer now, and she thinks it’s probably because the stranger had a talent for making her feel welcome. “ a drink would be nice, i think. you said they have the best drinks, so i’m a little bit curious now. is there anything you’d recommend ?? ”

Luciana had always decided to frequent Radiant because they had the best drinks and they always were playing the best music. While Luciana was openly bisexual, she loved coming to Radiant. "Oh no, not problematic at all!" Luciana said to the woman as she laughed and then shrugged her shoulders. "Nope. Listen, the gay bars have the best drinks and the best music so I think you came to the right place, plus everybody is so respectful if you aren't interested." Luci shrugged her shoulders a bit before she then hopped up onto a chair and patted the spot next to her. "You want a drink?" @moonrcse

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her heart is hammering in her chest, too loud, too fast — rosie thinks people would be able to hear it if the music wasn’t so loud, but the patience she’s faced with makes things a little easier. she doesn’t think she’d be able to handle it if he asked her what she was doing here without easing her into it first. she nods, words failing her for the moment ; once she relaxes ( just a little ), she flashes a smile, small and genuine. “ i do like sweet drinks. my friends say i like to order, uh . . . diabetes in a cup. ” she replies, sheepish ; it’s not exactly something she’s proud of. “ sorry i freaked out on you. that must’ve looked silly. ”

emery's smirk softens into something warmer, sharp edges dulled by a quiet sort of fondness. he tilts his head, watching rosie fumble through her words with an almost amused patience. he usually doesn't find himself here either even though he does enjoy the attention he gets but there hasn't been a single spark since — well, in a while. "let me get you a drink before you talk yourself into a full spiral, okay?” he says, but there’s nothing harsh about it. If anything, it sounds almost… affectionate? “so, what’ll it be? something strong to help you stop overthinking, or something sweet to match that whole flustered thing you’ve got going on?”

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it’s second nature, how the corners of her mouth lift to mirror the other’s grin ( an instinct her mother had drilled onto her before she could talk ) ; but her smile feels wooden, frozen in place — rosie’s too anxious to really put her heart into it. “ sorry, i just . . . well, i’ve never been here before, like i said. it’s all very new to me. ” she knew aria, of course, even though they’ve never had to work on the same project before, and it . . . complicates things, seeing one of her colleagues here. her mother knows where she works. her mother even knows some of the higher-ups, oh god, if she heard — alcohol. alcohol should help, right ?? and aria was offering. it should take the edge off, help her relax. that’s what people say, anyway. “ uh . . . ” she draws the word out, tries to calm herself in the meantime. it doesn’t help. “ i’ll have whatever you’re having !! you probably know a lot more about the drinks here than i do. ”

aria watches her for a second, amused. she's seen her before—they both work at xoxo magazine after all. different departments, sure, but their work lets them cross paths just enough for aria to recognize rosie's face. she raises a brow, fighting back a grin as rosie stumbles through her explanation. cute, she looks like a lost baby chick. aria settles for an easy smile, a hint of playfulness in her eyes. "you don't have to explain why you're here, no one's keeping score." she tilts her head, giving rosie a once-over that's more playful than anything. "but since you're here... might as well enjoy yourself, right? order up—first drink's on me."

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she hums to confirm, and then ( sensing the other’s distress ) she adds, “ it’s not so bad !! i mean it’s a little daunting at first, i guess, but you can just pick whatever you think is cutest and you’re good to go. how’s this — tell me three of your favorite sea creatures and we’ll see if they have any of them in boba form. that should be a little easier, right ?? ” she pauses, considers the question ; head tilting to one side and eyes narrowing in thought. “ can i . . . ask the audience ?? or call a friend ?? i’m really bad with accents, sorry. i was born and raised here, so . . . you could be from mars and i’d probably say new york or something. ”

"well, damn. so the different shapes are just for the aesthetic." he sighs. that honestly makes it worse for him. at least different flavors would help him decide. "i don't know if i'd call myself a tourist. i don't know if i'd call myself a local either, to be fair..." he laughs, thinking that making small talk could help soothe his nerves. "i was born here and my family's here, but... well, i've been trying to sound more l.a." he says, letting more of his illinois, midwestern twang slip through, "here's my real accent, though. can you guess where i'm from?" he always finds it funny when people guess chicago.

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  radiant !!

this was fine. straight people went to gay bars all the time. they talk about how fun it is, tell all their friends about it, too. just because she’s at radiant it doesn’t automatically mean she’s — no one will know. it’ll be okay. rosie has mostly calmed herself down by the end of her little pep talk, but the fear comes back full force when she turns around only to see a familiar face. “ oh !! hi, i was just — i’ve heard so much about this place, you know ?? i had no idea that, uh — that gay bars could be so fun. is that problematic to say ?? i mean i am straight, so i just . . . i don’t want to offend. ” that was . . . convincing enough, surely ??

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“ mm, it’s the boba !! very cute. ” she’s smiling, excited ; happy to find that the stranger agrees with her. maybe it’s a little juvenile, liking little boba creatures this much at her age ( her mother would certainly think so ), but rosie tries not to think about her mother before lunch. spoiling her own day this early wouldn’t do her much good. “ they went viral for this, too. i think it’s well-deserved. i’m trying to convince my boss to let me do a piece on them. ” she’s babbling again, just a bit, so she takes a sip of her drink in an effort to put a stopper on the flow. “ maybe i can help !! what do you usually get ?? do you want to try something similar or something new ?? ”

aging truly has its bittersweet moments — yup! leo is, in fact, a sixty year old man; reaching his seniority. he’s five years away from officially becoming a part of the senior citizen community. oh, the joys. he made his bi-weekly visits to dream bubble, or whenever he thought of boba... or when he’s dehydrated... or is desiring something tasty. “no, actually,” leo was just indecisive. “but like you said, they have a lot of choices.” he crouched down to take a closer look at the young woman’s cup, only a little, and hummed. “jellyfish? what’s that?” okay, maybe he didn’t come often and asked a pretty dumb query. “i’m assuming it’s the jelly,” he mumbled under his breath. “you’re right; it’s super cute.”

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“ mm, i order my drinks pretty sweet. ” she nods in response to the question, and her reply is an understatement — rosie likes diabetes in a cup and all of her friends know it. “ i usually do 120% sugar on mine. ” she adds, sheepish ; she’s been told she has the palate of a child more times than she can count. “ but its really good !! i can see why it went viral. and they’re cute, so . . . you know. they’re kind of perfect for instagram stories. ” she smiles, a little more comfortable now that they’ve traded more than two sentences, and looks from the stranger to the menu and back again. “ are you planning on giving it a try? i heard you can add them to pretty much any drink, so you can probably just have them with your usual if you wanted to. ”

          aquatic  boba  was  exactly  what  she  was  here  for.     the  rumor  being  passed  through  the  grapevine  was  any  person  who  hasn't  tried  it  needed  to.     immediately.     not  only  was  it  aesthetically  pleasing  to  look  it,        but,        like, tasted  just  as  nice.     well, that's  how  word  of  mouth  went.     attention  is  pulled  by  the  sound  of  another  person's  voice  and  a  sweet  smile  forms  on  her  face   —   as  sweet  as  jane  can  muster  up  when  talking  to  strangers   —   and  examines  the  drink  in  front  her.      “  it's  not  my  first  time  here, but  everyone's  been  like  ..     raving  about  that  drink, ”  femme  answers, eyes  shifting  from  the  cup  to  actually  look  the  other  in  the  face, “  how  do  you  order  yours?  is  it, like, super  sweet?  ”

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she nods in understanding, makes a few sounds of agreement around a sip of boba. tourism in santa monica could be a little stifling. “ i get what you mean. there’s so many tourist spots, it’s like you wouldn’t even know where to go or where to start. ” she says, gesticulating a bit as she speaks. “ but no, they all taste the same. they look different and they have different colors, but i guess they want customers to be able to put them in any drink ?? i guess i wouldn’t be happy if the boba flavor clashed with my drink either . . . ”

"yeah, it's my first time. there are just so many places around here, and..." robin liked to stick with what was already familiar to him. he didn't finish his sentence, though, not wanting to sound like a dork. "do the different boba shapes taste different? i mean, clearly, the jellyfish isn't made out of real jellyfish..." right? that couldn't be safe otherwise. "but do they add different flavorings to the different shapes?"

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♡  : ROSIE’S PLAYLIST !!

intro : alone saturn ‧ sza act two : falling red wine supernova ‧ chappell roan act three : uncertainty cliff’s edge ‧ hayley kiyoko act four : parting i can change ‧ ezra furman final act : strangers facebook friends ‧ niki

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the reaction startles a laugh out of her — xochitl was so unfiltered, so unlike her in every way ; rosie could never guess what she would say next. it makes her want to be a little unpredictable, too — so she leans in, voice dropping to a whisper, brows lifting conspiratorially. “ well, chinese jellyfish salads are a thing, and the owners are chinese, so . . . ” she pauses, lets the words float for a moment, before letting her shoulder knock against xochitl’s ( carefully ) with a laugh. “ i’m kidding !! its just boba. harmless and perfect. ” she takes a sip, her next words a little muffled around the jellyfish. “ are you getting anything ?? i could order for you. we can match. ” it’s said with a grin — she’s teasing.

xochitl  made  eye  contact  (  rookie  mistake  )  .  what  could  were  the  headphones  if  she  couldn't  even  pretend  that  the  world  around  her  didn't  exist  ?  words  don't  find  her  at  first  .  she  uses  the  time  rosie  spends  speaking  to  pull  her  sonys  around  her  neck  and  tried  to  ignore  the  slight  discomfort  of  the  crochet  ghosties  now  pressing  into  her  neck  .  “  christ  .  ”  was  the  first  word  she  uttered  .  the  slip  paired  with  wide  and  blinking  eyes  as  an  over  reaction  to  the  brightly  colored  drink  in  her  eye  line  .  “  i  feel  like  you  just  flash  banged  me  ,  that  shit  is  nuclear  .  what's  in  there  ?  battery  acid  ?  "  she  dared  to  take  another  glance  at  it  and  quickly  looked  away  again  ,  but  xochitl  found  herself  curious  at  the  mention  of  one  word  :  jellyfish  .  “  it's  not  actual  jellyfish  though  .  .  .  right  ?  ”

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record stores shouldn’t be this confusing, rosie thinks — or maybe she’s just a little nervous. maybe the way she jumps after one of the employees asks her a question is a clue. “ oh !! uhm — no ?? ” she shakes her head, mostly at herself ; that wasn’t what she meant to say. “ it’s just, uhm . . . i need help. do you know that album, the one with the song that goes a little like — dun dun dun dun dun dun boys in bars dun dun dun dun dun try to stop the feeling ?? ” she knows the lyrics by heart, but no one else needs to know that. “ i was wondering if you had a vinyl of that. i need to buy one for, uhm — a birthday gift. ” she says, finishing it off with a nod. ‘ real smooth, rosie, ’ she chides herself.

open starter ! where: rudy's or hi tide comics.

there was a reason both jobs typically delegated the 'back of house' jobs to alex and he happened to think it was a very smart move on their behalf. even if, sometimes, he ended up on the floor despite his best efforts. placing his box down on the counter, dark gaze swept the room and landed on another's. he offered the smallest of smiles before immediately returning to the job at hand, picking and sorting through the box... only to glance up again and catch the same person's eye. a soft breath was huffed, eyebrows rising slightly. "uh. you good?" not what he'd wanted to say, but clearly some of the mandatory customer service training had gone in.

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rosie nods along as the other speaks, mouth forming a little ‘ o ’ as the stranger outlines her preferences. “ you don’t f — oh. ” she echoes, catching herself just in time. “ i think i can see why, though. crown’s menu is a lot . . . simpler. ” she means to say boring, but to each their own, she supposed. some people like their coffee black, rosie prefers diabetes in a cup. nothing wrong with that. “ less choices, less stress, right ?? ” she jokes, eyes crinkling at the corners. she turns back to the menu, considering. she alternates between scanning the words and glancing at the stranger beside her, trying to get a read on her and sipping her drink all the while ( the little jellyfish were just what rosie needed today ). “ well i don’t know how you like your coffee, you might not like it sweet, but if you do — ” she steps into the stranger’s space, just a little, the better to point at the drinks she’s referring to. “ their cheesecake milk teas are pretty nice, just pick whatever you like. their biscoff milk tea is also really good, you know those little biscuits ?? and it has sea salt, so it has a perfect balance of salty and sweet. or !! ” she pauses, just long enough to chew on a little pearl, and fixes the stranger with a smile. “ you can order their cherry blossom lemonade. can’t really go wrong with lemonade. ”

riley  wasn’t  exactly  a  boba  drinker.  she  never  really  got  the  hype—something  about  the  texture  threw  her  off.  the  little  black  balls  were  too  chewy,  too  weirdly  slimy  for  her  liking.  if  she  wanted  something  to  drink,  she’d  just  get  coffee,  simple  as  that.  but  here  she  was,  standing  in  the  middle  of  a  boba  shop,  trying  to  figure  out  what  the  hell  she  was  supposed  to  order  without  looking  completely  lost.  what  was  up  with  boba  shops  and  their  ridiculous  number  of  choices?  milk  teas,  fruit  teas,  yakult  blends,  slushies—normal  enough.  but  then  there  was  stuff  like  cheese  foam  and  taro  oat  lattes  and  drinks  that  promised  to  taste  like  clouds  and  galaxies.  she  wasn’t  even  sure  what  half  of  this  shit  was  supposed  to  be. “it  is  my  first  time,”  she  admitted  sheepishly,  “i  usually  just  get  coffee  at  crown.”  riley  stared  at  the  stranger’s  drink,  eyebrows  raising  as  she  got  a  better  look.  it  took  her  a  second  to  realise  those  were  the  boba.  “that  is  cute,”  she  hummed.  the  thought  of  chewing  through  a  mouthful  of  jellyfish-shaped  blobs  made  her  nose  wrinkle,  though.  “but  nah.  i  don’t  fuck  with  boba.  have  you  got  any  other  recommendations?”

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  dream bubble !!

she tried not to stare, but she knows the menu could be a little overwhelming. rosie hesitates only briefly before turning to the other, punching the top of her aquatic boba ( 120% sugar, extra jellyfish, less ice ) before she speaks. “ is this your first time ?? ” she takes a quick sip, head tilted in question. “ they have a lot of choices, but i buy the same thing every single time. their aquatic boba is really good, and it’s super cute too. see ?? ” she lifts her cup, brings it closer to the other’s line of sight. “ i always ask for extra jellyfish. ”

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HAVANA ROSE LIU as ISABEL Bottoms (2023), directed by Emma Seligman

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