#I really didn't want to just call their augment empathy

[lavandulalurker]

MORE IWATEX OCS YEAH

This is Iri (they/them) they were born on the Stratospheric and they want to be a teacher (If you can't read the text, check under the cut)

Iridescent (Iri)

Name Origin: having a shimmer that seems to change colors at different angles

Augment: Heightened empathy

Iri has always had a deep fascination with everything the world has to offer, and a never ending desire to learn. Iri is the type to remember insignificant things about another person, the way they fiddle with their fingers or how much sugarbug syrup they want in their blep tea. They love everything, from the smallest bug to the biggest stars. As much as it seems like it, Iri doesn't go through rose tinted glasses, they simply choose kindness as a form of resilience.

Iri is always there as a shoulder to cry on, but because they know the weight of other's feelings, it makes it hard for them to do the same.

[2019weekendproject]

party weekend.

oh, how that meant something else completely during the days of my youth (basically, last year). Party Pier club hopping (GZ reference) took a one eighty and now, we celebrate with Mickey!

Looking for something to do on the weekend that was coming up, called up my mom on a Thursday to check if she'd be interested to watch the APO play with me.

me: may lakad ka sa saturday?

mom: birthday ni Ythann. dating ka ng maaga (come early) para mag setup ng balloons.

me: ok. (in my head - how difficult can balloon setups be?)

So I got there quite late ~I arrived while they were in between batches of lumpia fried to golden perfection, which served as my late lunch/ pre-party snack. 

The simple house party (or so I thought) turned out to be quite the quaint "outdoor gathering". We put up a kiddie event in a Work-In-Progress lot that my parents were converting into an extended garage. It was basically just an elevated ramp and only two sides of the fire walls built that transformed into the perfect rustic setup - a nice way to say, wow that’s a bare backdrop. We had the clear blue sky that went well with it, at least!

SETUP TIME.

With only an hour to put up whatever my mom had in mind. It was a lot of hands on deck to make it all come to life, even without an actual reference plan. I would have wanted something drawn on paper, but decisions on the spot wasn’t all that bad. Besides, how many different ways are there to put up H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y balloons anyway? 

There was the question though, if we should hang the Mickey balloon-heads upside down on a string. Good call that we found a spot in the kiddie seats instead! Else, we could've ended up eerie awkward playtime horror (with black and red balloons to boot), instead of Disney fun!

It was a sunny and breezy afternoon that was made perfect with just the right number of guests. A clown-for-hire (not me) served as entertainment. Tough job, makes my wedding hosting seem like child's play, when he's the one who had to actually play with children! oh the irony!

At one point, when some catchy dance music was playing, a recent top40 hit. Several kids started dancing to the beat, in unison! woah, that sure caught on, I thought. What was I dancing to when I was their age? I SAW THE SIGN!🤣

Here’s our little Mickey pre-party!

We got the goodies, chocolate fountain and this surprisingly yummy cake + puto tower

The other nephew was, of course, in attendance with his own Mickey get-up and.. a Pokemon face paint!

It was just like any any other neighborhood celebration. No frills, all fun. And it’s exactly what it was, just that I thought the ‘after-party’ was loads interesting too!

MEET THE FAMILY.

My not so little younger sister finally brought with her... the one who we only had but a glimpse of in her instagram (of which all family members were blocked, but there are ways...) ~ the BOYFRIEND!

I had the idea (in my head) of acting like the bully big brother, tag team with my little bro, but didn't purse that after my buzz~kill brother made a comment (probably out of empathy), that we shouldn't torture the guy. WE~NO FUN.

To be honest though, we were probably more shy than he was. The chatty family that we most definitely are NOT, there wasn't much small talk questions in the arsenal to extend the conversation beyond a few minutes. So, we just distracted ourselves with.. family photo!

[SIDE INSERT]

Since I totally forgot it was the weekend of my nephew’s party, I had to scramble getting a present. And boy, oh boy, someone went for the BEST TITO award, scouring the Big Bad Wolf for the BEST PRESENT EVER! To think, I'm the only Tito in the family, so it was really me just trying to beat myself... or was it the guilt from giving him a squeaky plastic toy hammer for Christmas, didn’t know what I was thinking then! hahaha

First time at the World Trade Center! My second book fair, first one was in Cebu many months back!

This was the 1am ‘crowd’ on a Saturday morning!

The big hit was this augmented reality book. I'm a fan! (not my gift)