her mouth drops open - bamboozled is certainly a word - and not a good one at that. "well, we can't have that. enlightened maybe, inspired, dazzled - give me a moment." scanning the crowd, her eyes meet one of the servers mingling about and waves them over, before her attention turns to the man once more. "yes - we've got vegan options for those with dietary restrictions. but also cured meats, breads, veggies, fruits, and chocolate - they all bring out different notes in the wine, and have different pairings." still, she can't help but note that his hands are empty, leaving céleste to wonder if he perhaps wasn't searching for the perfect pairing - but had come instead for the atmosphere and food.
she takes the quick moment to instruct the server, asking them to make a few more rounds and keep an eye out for any newcomers, before offering a few selections from the tray they'd left to the stranger. "here you are. although i have to say, if you're here mainly for the food, there are also appetizers going around. those pair well with the wines too - but are a bit better all on their own." although, she supposes, cheese doesn't need much fancying up to be delicious. give her a good baguette, a brie, and some fruit and she'd be delighted too.
a chuckle leaves her lips at his reaction the the game offered, "i'm not surprised, it's english - and mostly you just have to hit balls with mallets through hoops. it's pretty big there, very posh - but i don't think it ever truly caught on here. although it was featured in one of the last bridgerton seasons - anthony's, if you watch those? they called it pall-mall, but as far as i understand, they're essentially the same thing." while she's not one to stereotype, she does have to admit she'd be surprised if that was a show he followed. "we didn't want to do the regular lawn games of cornhole or ladder toss - so we thought this might be a bit more fitting."
the moment she said 'give me a moment' he trusted her completely. something in the way she'd held herself and the confidence in her response comforted luke. the whole time he'd been there so far he'd felt out of place, this was far from his element, though he supposed that was the idea of mingling and trying new things. "oh, nah, i don't need anything vegan. no offense or anything i just like whatever i'm having to be pure and unmodified." he'd seen vegan steaks and whatnot and they were almost uncomfortable for him to look at. "that all sounds great. everything you have to pair with your wines. i've gotta be honest though... as i'm sure you've already discerned, i'm not really versed in wines. at all. i don't hate it or anything, it's tasted fine whenever i've had a sip, it's just never been my go-to." he wanted to ask more, but he had a feeling she needed to be busy with everyone rather than babysit him through this experience. "so, where i can find that stuff? is there a buffet table i haven't seen yet?"
as she said it his eyes began scanning around the crowd like a typical large and hungry man for those appetizers floating about. "i'm here for the experience." a grin was beamed at her. "i'm used to bars and beers and liquor and pub food. i'm also an independent mechanic so i thought mingling wouldn't hurt. people network at these things don't they?" his eyes moved over her face, noting how pretty she was and how posh and polished she seemed. basically someone he likely wouldn't meet outside of circumstances like this.
"sooo... kind of like golf in a way?" again, his brow lifted, this time with interest and visualizing what she was explaining. though he did grin at the bridgerton reference. especially the specific scene. "pall mall. isn't that a beer? oh, wait, no... it's cigarettes, right?" but luke was sure they were a british brand so maybe that was the connection or tie-in. "i'd be all over a cornhole game but yeah i get that. this isn't the place for that kind of game. that's a beer and cocktails crowd. i might have to give croquet a try. do you play?" maybe he'd steal more of her time and get a hands on lesson, or even a game with her.
"Don't believe that he did experiments. The Human Centipede is real, available on Blu-Ray and DVD," she said with a smile that turned into a grin. She had seen all three, naturally.
"What would you say is the worst movie?" she tilted her head, curious to hear a stranger's take, always curious when it came to movies. "That's always subjective, even though there's plenty Worst Of top 10's and 50's and you always find the same few movies in them over and over."
"i know it's a real film," he was quick to say and then paused as a thought snagged him, "hopefully not based on a true story..." if it had been then luke definitely had missed that and truthfully was probably better for it.
"worst movie or the top horror film? because i'd rank the human centipede at number three in those ranks." there'd be no argument that it was all subjective when it came to ranking these things. "i remember one of those m. night shyamalan movies being so bad that i walked out of it. i'm pretty sure i was also drunk." but luke continued to think. "worst best horror film? i'd say a serbian film or maybe martyrs. have you seen either?"
who: marlowe & luke ( @drivenadrift )
where: july 15th, national give something away day. somewhere in town.
" with heavy heart, i must give these things away. " marlowe sighs heavily. she has trash bags filled with her precious treasures. a life-size cardboard of edward cullen is looming above her, looking over both her and luke. she nudges it towards luke. " but i want you to have this, luke. i read your aura and, " a beat. a dramatic pause. " you need him. "
"you read my aura?" brow raised, slight skepticism rested on his expression as his gaze narrowed. his hand did the motions of accepting the transfer of the edward cullen cutout, but luke wasn't exactly paying attention to it yet. "without my permission?" the slightest bit of amusement was then readable in his features.
then he looked at the sparkling vampire, the one he'd made fun of countless times when he was much younger, and eventually back to marlowe. "are you really sure you could part with this? what if your life starts falling apart? what if he was the magic that held everything together?"
featuring: anyone ! @cascadestarters
location: onyx vines ( national wine & cheese day celebration )
while céleste might've only picked up remnants of what her parents had pictured when they first concocted the idea of onyx vines, she knew enough to be certain that this was more than they'd imagined. the place bustling with guests, a live jazz band filling the air with music, the sweet scent of almost ready for picking grapes scenting the air. it wasn't an earned pride for her yet - she had to put her own mark on the place and céleste knew she hadn't yet had enough time to do that yet, but with people touring the vineyard and enjoying a summer day - it was hard not to be in good spirits. "did you come for a tasting?" a smile beams on her lips, approaching the newest arrival with a warm confidence. "i know it's national wine and cheese day - but we do have alternative options too, if you're interested in those. or there's a game of croquet about to start. but don't ask me for the rules - sadly the most i can do on that front is point you in the right direction." truly, they'd gone above and beyond this go around, and while she'd helped here and there as much as she could when she was younger, it was all the more rewarding to do it now that she fully understood her parent's love.
wine tasting wasn't luke's thing. he wasn't even sure he liked wine. it was something to do, though, and he definitely appreciated cheese. so he moseyed around and recognized a few people he'd fixed car issues for. also dodged a few trying to offer little tastes of their labor from the vines. it was a nice day so he couldn't complain, except that he'd yet to find the cheese.
"of the cheese? yeah..." a lopsided smile formed as he peered at the woman that'd approached. "i've yet to come across any though so i'm starting to feel a bit bamboozled on coming here." nothing more than a tease really, there were worse ways to spend a day. "alternative options?" brow quirked at that, luke encouraged her to elaborate.
"yeah, i'm gonna be honest with you..." a hand lifted to rub at the nape of his neck while he wore another small grin on his lips. his disposition often settled on light because he'd drown in the heaviness if he didn't keep smiling. "i have absolutely no idea what croquet is."
Open to: anyone! @cascadestarters
Where: by the Shady Belle
Hands in pockets, Rhiannon admires the old, decrepit and abandoned house like one would a piece of fine art in a museum or vintage uranium glass in an antiques shop (she adores uranium glass). "You know, they say he experimented on people. The good doctor," she says, looking their way. "By people I mean women, of course. Personally, I'd have experimented on men and women. Equal opportunity torture. Human Centipede style. " She takes a beat for that declaration to sink in, then adds, as casually as ever: "I don't believe in any of that, though. FYI."
mild curiosity turned to concern as he stood there. first taking in the information as he looked at the house, wondering what the big deal was, then somehow ending up with human centipede stuck in his head. that was imagery that was hard to erase.
"in what... the experiments or the human centipede?" slight bewilderment looked her way, hoping she'd say both.
then, after a beat and needing to getting the immediate visuals out of his head, luke carried on. "that isn't even the worst movie. it was pretty bad. definitely ranks up there. but... you've gotta wonder about the mind that creates this shit, right?"
LUCAS CARBONE. 28. CIS MAN. HE/HIM is here! They’ve lived in Cascade for 3 YEARS and currently reside in TULE BAY. LUKE is a WHEELMAN + MECHANIC and frequently hears that they look a lot like BELMONT CAMELI. Funny, huh? If ever caught by Letterboxd, they’d say THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1968) is in their Top 4 and the theme song to their life’s soundtrack would be RUNNING IN THE NIGHT by FM-84, OLLIE WRIDE.
background.
trigger warnings: child abandonment, criminal activity / loan sharks, death
for most of luke's young life it had just been him and his father. his mother disappeared and left a hole in his life when he was still a toddler and his father had never really been equipped to raise a child with or without his mother around. much of his upbringing was his father doing the best that he could with the tools that he had and for luke it'd been a rough way of coming up through life.
the one thing he and his old man bonded on was cars. his father was obsessed and if he'd had money he would've been a collector. instead he was everyone's cheap mechanic. from the time he could walk luke was handing off tools and learning all the ins and outs of what made vehicles and engines work. his father's obsession had become his own and by his early teens he was racing round his georgia town and finding minor troubles with the law because of it.
in high school he was racing cars for money or pink slips, often bringing home a new car and making his father proud. he'd become a collector through luke's endeavors. in his small town he was known as a troublemaker but it was all only around cars and racing, the dream being to somehow be a professional race car driver someday but much of it was a rich man's game and his father never really had the funds to support those dreams.
there was also a lack of support in general as his father truly only knew how to be self serving. he'd grown up and lived a life in survival mode and that was all he knew and all he could really pass on. luke's old man was every man's mechanic but also the guy that took any handyman job necessary to make some cash. the downside to all his hard labor for those funds was that he often blew it all at the bar and with gambling.
when luke was 19 he'd come home to his father dead in the living room and would soon be paid a visit by some nasty goons that took luke to a man he'd learn was a notorious and dangerous loan shark. apparently luke's father owed them a lot of money and the sins of the father then became the burdens of the son. luke did a few jobs for them as a wheelman, their getaway driver or transporter until he discovered that the debt wasn't truly repayable. the goal line kept getting stretched further and further.
so, he did the only thing he could think of doing and that was going on the run. luke worked his way west until he made it to california, then he traveled north. a small, peaceful town like cascade seemed like the perfect place to hide for a while and blend in. a while eventually became three years and when he looks at himself in the mirror he sees his old man. a mechanic for hire. on the low he takes on races or jobs as a wheelman, just under a different name while constantly looking over his shoulder and being suspicious of anyone he meets.
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