⚽ nata shouldn't be smoking, a nasty habit that looked very bad on an athlete. well, she's uncertain if she still has a job in that regard. but the press was still talking about her as if she was. the smoke dangling from between her index and middle finger, the only thing keeping her warm apart from the flimsy jacket that might as well have been made from papier-mâché. she turns to look in the direction of the voice, honestly, having zero interest in conversing with anyone tonight. "if i give you one will you leave me alone?"
honestly? “ no. ” said with a shit-eating grin, as per usual. he wasn't known to leave people alone, more famous for being a nuisance. he noticed her pulling the jacket closer over her shoulders, and took off his own leather jacket and draped it over her shoulders wordlessly. “ why'd you come out if you didn't want to talk to anyone? ” a fair question – luca thought so, at least.
Tabby perused the aisles slowly, a careful eye taking in her options. If they were going to make a candy charcuterie board for their next movie night, it had to be perfect. They'd gotten a chocolate and a sweet gummy, but now they needed a sour. They were so focused on weighing the merits of different kinds, that they didn't even notice that their stroller - the one holding their pet skunk, Flora - had bumped into someone. "Oh shoot, I'm sorry! I was off in my own little world and I didn't mean to bump you. Are you okay?" They quickly said, making sure they hadn't hurt the other person, though they doubted it. "Actually, can you help me out? It's an important candy question! Sour gummy worms or sour rainbow strips? I'm stuck."
concern seemed to vanish immediately and disappeared into candy talk, though luca felt less hurt than confused about what seemed to be a skunk in a pram. “ what's an important candy question ? ” heavy on the air quotes. but okay, he'll bite. “ gummy worms, i guess. do i get a prize now ? ” no wonder everyone thought he was an asshole.
STATUS: open to all @ciderstarters
LOCATION: Lois and Found
Fingers cautiously reached for what they were sure many would describe as a 'creepy' doll only to fall short before they actually touch the object. "Do you think it was loved?" The earnest question came with a pair of brown eyes landing on the nearest person to them. "Or do you think the previous owner got rid of it while spring cleaning to clear their space of negative energy?"
that thing definitely freaked him out, but elvira didn't need to know that. besides, luca had a reputation to maintain. he didn't have time to be getting freaked out by dolls. instead, the question was met with a scoff. “ what sort of negative energy ? ” whether or not he secretly believed in the supernatural was irrelevant. why would other people ? “ ghosts ? ” spooky spirit fingers made sarcastically as he said it.
do you hear FLASH IN THE PAN BY JANE REMOVER playing? oh, that must be LUCA GIOVANNI breezing by. i don’t know if you recognize them, but they look like COSTA D'ANGELO to me. i heard that HE has been in town for A MONTH, which is crazy considering they are TWENTY7 years old. yeah, they live over on ELECTRIC AVENUE, and i heard that they work as a MUSIC PRODUCER ( OUT OF TOWN ). i love that they remind me of HOURS FIDDLING WITH A SINGLE ABLETON SETTING, BLACK AND WHITE MOVIES USING CHOCOLATE SYRUP FOR BLOOD, and A CROOKED SMILE THAT ALWAYS PROJECTS CONFIDENCE but … ugh, their playlist is so weird. why is YOU'RE SO VAIN n the queue?
1999. born to born-and-bred new englanders who always minded their p's and q's, made sure to eat dinner together as a family, and showed off their kids like they were the fucking von trapps. as the first-born, mr. and mrs. giovanni lavished luca like he was the sun in the sky. even as his five other siblings came in, it didn't stop his mom from whispering to luca that he would always be her bambino.
2017. it also didn't stop mr. giovanni from gambling all their money away and taking out credit cards in luca's name as soon as he turned 18 to pay for their lavish lifestyle. it wasn't until he tried to apply for financial aid for college was luca told that he had too many outstanding credit card loans to qualify for any additional student loans. without the opportunity to go to college, and more debt in his name than he knew what to do with, luca knew he had to take big swings.
a love of the craft, is what it was. luca wanted to go to film school to figure out how all his favorite movies came to be, and how he could make them happen himself. being your own director was a big swing, yes, but a little harder to pull off without a big budget behind you. it didn't stop luca from carrying a camcorder with him and trying to document his life. maybe he'd be able to create something out of it? what was the harm?
2018. he had always loved experimental music, had messed around in ableton throughout high school and shift-pitched his voice to make slowed-down reverb covers of popular songs before it was the trend. that was a little easier to start without any financial footing, and it wasn't hard to go on fiverr and beg people to pay you scraps so you can clean up their vocals.
2020. it was slow-going without a professional studio . . . until the pandemic hit. now luca's skill with home equipment helped him, not hindered him. luca grained traction on soundcloud under the handle dirgio, short for director giovanni, a nod to his previous dreams. people were lining up to work with him, and he started making something of a cult following. people loved his signature style, splicing together the most unique samples ranging from pokemon battle cries to 50s doo-wop bands.
2023: as soon as he had a net worth in the positives and managed to pay down all the debt his dad had racked up for him, guess who comes knocking on his door after years demanding he contribute money to the family? luca was having none of it. he packed up his things, moved to nashville, and signed to an in-house producing studio. things were good . . . at first.
2025. two years later, luca felt washed up, and not just because everyone kept telling him he was. he had reached a point in the last two years where he had felt like his music couldn't be more uninspired if he wanted it to. despite working with some of the biggest names in the industry (yes, it's true he was a consultant on midnight sun), people were getting sick of dirgio's oversaturation.
2026. it was a hail mary. he returned to new england, a small town that he hoped his parents would never find him in (though he texted his siblings his address in case they needed him) and prayed he could find inspiration again.
down to his last cigarette, luca thought it would be fine if he smoked before he went inside and bought another pack the next morning . . . until he got caught up in a conversation about how singers who use autotune can't sing. and then he needed a smoke immediately. “ hey, ” he said to the only other person loitering outside the bar. “ trade you a smoke for a shot ? ” luca had money, but he was itching for a hit of nicotine right now that alcohol didn't hit.
open !! — for anyone ( feel free to assume connections )
📍 grand royale
🎶 "so — you gunna come and dance with me or what? because you're absolutely not going stand there in the corner all night." it was still early, and annoyingly all the dj was playing was gen-z tiktok music, she was growing very tired of waiting for the vibe to shift in the room. so she didn't blame the other person for holding back, at least, not for too long.
what was wrong with drinking against the wall and ignoring everyone else? he didn't think there was anything. avani disagreed. now luca was here, having to listen to dogshit music that he was sure he could out-produce if given enough time. “ you hear the shit they're playing, avi ? ” said with a smirk. “ we could make better shit than this in our sleep. ” a music producer finding his way into a shell of a music town - who knew luca would meet someone in kind? he needed to do something to regain his muse, though, to get him back in the good graces of the record label and the public eye, and if cider point was what he needed, well . . . luca had to start somewhere, didn't he?