Emile

[angstfactory]

"Sunscreen, right," he chuckled some, not sure if that was a joke or not, yet deciding to take it as one anyway. Kind of funny, really. It made Fitzroy think of the fact they were in a town full of vampires. "Cheers," he toasted to the birthday wish, now taking a fresh and healthy swallow of his drink. The male had developed a nice enough glow now; warm and settled.

He appreciated the other's frankness-- it was easier when people didn't really pussyfoot around in what they wanted. Fitzroy hadn't necessarily come here tonight with the intention to leave with someone, mostly because he had already come with friends as it was. But, he wasn't opposed to a change in plans at all. "Good, because for all that rubbish I dished on you about age," Fitzroy laughed to himself before his eyes rolled, "I still live with my parents." Granted, the estate their family had was rather large and people could go days without interacting at all, if they truly wished. But that didn't change the fact he had yet to cut the cord for a bachelor's life.

Fitzroy imagined Selin and him would have to go house hunting or whatever, at some point. Should that be before or after their wedding? Perhaps before, so he could have all the affairs settled and they could just run straight to it after the honeymoon. There was a lot to plan out still, he was realizing. No wonder why they were so on his ass..

"Come, join me for a walk," Fitzroy requested of the other suddenly, as he abandoned the rest of his drink and got to his feet. Everything in there felt a bit stifling all of a sudden. "I could use some fresh air."

[lcser]

"Really?" Emile questioned with mild curiosity. It seemed more and more young people were living with their parents these days. The usual culprit being that they were financially unable to fend for themselves with the growing debt that seemed to target people from every avenue. Still, this man didn't seem like he was lacking in funds so there must be some other reason he's fully grown and yet to leave the comfort of his nest. He doesn't dwell on it too much though. It wasn't like there was any benefit in getting to know someone he was about to snuff out as soon as the opportunity presented itself to him.

It seemed like the wait wasn't going to be long as he continued to follow the human's lead. There was no coercion needed it seemed and Emile would be lying if he didn't like it when people made it so easy for him. "Not going to say goodbye to your friends?" Emile asked somewhat playfully with a smirk on his face as he poked fun at his eagerness to go off with him now. He was more than willing to abandon the bar and find somewhere private he could take him and rose to his feet to accompany the man.

[highlandlament]

Closed Starter for: @lcser

Checking in with the vampires who he had previously taken in was something that Arthur had always considered to be one of his vital responsibilities. Most would probably argue that once they left and went out on their own, that freed Arthur from needing to worry about them any longer, but that was not how Arthur looked at it at all. While he certainly didn't consider the vampires who had stayed with him to be his children or anything, his views on to dealing with them after they had left were, admittedly, rather parent like; once he took them in, he agreed to help them in being functional vampires, and just because they had left, that did not mean that his obligation to supporting them was finished. This was why, without fail, he always invited them to return to the estate at least once a year, so that he could hear about how things were going for them.

Today was meant to be one of the days when such a meeting was to take place, but he wasn't entirely sure whether the vampire was going to show up or not.

Arthur had always been rather fond of Emile, and ultimately was glad when he decided to stick around town even after leaving the estate. But, because of how little Arthur ventured out, he still didn't get to see him as much as he would have liked, though he knew that to be largely his own fault. Still, he was rather excited for this meeting, assuming that Emile would actually accept the invitation and show up. As he sat in the drawing room and watched the clock tick away, getting closer to the time of 1:30 which he had written upon the invitation, Arthur exhaled a small sigh before looking to Poole, his butler. "Of course it's raining outside, so in the event that he does arrive, he may be in need of a towel when he gets here." He instructed, to which the butler nodded and exited the room. It was only a few minutes until 1:30 now...

[lcser]

Emile had debated rescinding the invitation right up until the very last minute and that was why the young vampire was now running late. He’d chosen to walk as it had started out as a nice evening when he’d left his apartment downtown but not long into his stroll did the rains start to pour. Again, Emile debated turning around and heading home but he refrained. Arthur had seen him in states far worse than damp before.

It had taken Emile a lot to accept the help that Arthur had bestowed on him nearly a decade ago. Had it not been for his aid Emile wouldn’t be a functioning member of society and would still be out in some woods somewhere terrorizing hikers and adding to the legend of things that go bump in the night. Emile had a lot to thank Arthur for but he’s never formally showed his gratitude. Perhaps that was part of the reason he agreed to meeting up again, he felt he owed it to the older vampire especially considering he never asked for much.

Finally around two o’clock Emile wound up at Arthur’s estate. He was properly drenched though the rain didn’t bother him any as he approached his door and knocked. He shook out his hair, much like a wet dog, as he waited to be let in.

[dan-cyril-kingston]

Timothée Chalamet for Vogue China Plus (photography by Lee Wei Swee)

[asholestone]

Asher walked into the store, spotting Emile behind the counter right away. "Hey, Emile!" he greeted with a friendly smile. Being one of Bianca’s only employees, Asher knew Emile pretty well—or at least as much as Emile let anyone get to know him. "Have you seen Ma? She mentioned needing help unloading some new tapes or something?" Asher shrugged, not entirely sure why he was there. He had a feeling his mom just wanted an excuse to see him.

[lcser]

"Hey," Emile greeted Asher back. He was certainly familiar with his boss's son. He cocked a brow when he brought up the task. That memo hadn't been passed along to him especially when it sounded like a task of an actual paid employee. "She just stepped out. I think she was going to the bakery to get you a treat," Emile revealed ruining the little surprise in the process. "I don't know about any new tapes though. We got some in the other day but they've already all been added to the system."

[thegraveyardshifts]

"do they ruin your vibe?" the cashier asked, cocking their head to the right like an overly-curious yet entirely creepy dog, sharp-toothed grin still on their face. sebastien just preferred the taste of nicotine, even though the rush it gave others was completely lost on him. plus - they liked how they looked. a cigarette was attractive and mysterious, there was a reason that even though their prices continued to skyrocket, people still purchased them.

"standard, i'm more camel person myself. partial to - ah," they clicked the air a little. "menthols. love that little minty burst," sebastien turned around, using a key to open up behind him where tobacco, filters and e-cigs were kept, grabbing a pack of lucky strikes.

"that'll be $14,"

[lcser]

"I guess you could say that," Emile stated. "I just find them a pain in the ass to have to constantly recharge," he added. Emile already had too many things he had to manage and make sure had enough battery to last him throughout the day. He missed the days where you could just slap some batteries in the back of a device and be good. Even though Emile had all the time in the world now he hated waiting around for something to charge.

"Camels are fine," he agreed. Again, Emile didn't really hold any preference anymore. "I miss clove cigarettes," he added. They'd been outlawed in the states for over ten years now but he remembered smoking them all the time in his youth. He constantly raided the cigarette machines outside his high school for 'em. He knew he could still get them from other countries but he wasn't going to bother that much for them.

Hearing the price Emile continued to dig into his wallet looking for his card when it dawned on him that it wasn't in his wallet and was in fact still sitting on his desk when he'd made a purchase on his computer earlier in the day. "Shit, I left my card back at home," he explains. "Can I get a pack on a loan? Just until I can run back home and grab my card?" Emile asked. It wasn't a terribly long walk back to his place but it was one he didn't want to make without a cigarette. "I can leave my phone here as collateral."

[fadedstarsfms]

Maia had gone back to Video Vortex to return the videos she had rented and pick out some new ones for her and Cricket. When she went into the store she quickly looked around, hoping to find Asher, but instead she found someone else who called out to her. With a quick smile she approached him. "Hey! I was just returning these and was going to see if I could get some new ones. But it looks like my resident movie helper isn't here." She frowned slightly. "What's your favorite movie?"

[lcser]

“Yeah, no problem,” Emile said as he took the movies she was returning back from her. He’d scan them back in later when he was bored and had nothing else to do during the copious amount of free time he had. Emile was used to the question working in the shop though he kind of hated it. He didn’t really feel like he had a favorite movie and it was always changing the more films he wound up seeing. “Taxi Driver,” Emile answered simply. It was a film he’d seen enough times he could quote it and he always has fond memories of sneaking into the theater as a kid to see it with his brother.

[nananathanb]

The smile faded from his face when the voice that greeted him wasn’t Bianca’s. He was really hoping to talk to her today. “Okay, thanks,” he called in response, and wandered over to the section of the store where the DVDs were kept to have a look around. Jay tsked, stuffing a hand in his pocket to feel the few rings he had brought to be enchanted. He should really start calling ahead, instead of assuming Bianca would be in the shop all the time.

Now he had to walk out of here with a movie so he wouldn’t look weird. Jay grabbed a pink one off the shelf. Legally Blonde 1&2, it said. The lady on the cover was blonde, and having no context for the movie whatsoever, decided she reminded him of Emily. That was good enough. He took it over to the counter and set it down. “Just this please.”

[lcser]

Emile doesn’t pay the man much attention as he goes through the store. Even though he’d offered his assistance if it was needed he didn’t really want to have to spring into action.

He only gets up from his seat to walk over to the register once he’s picked out a movie. “You got it,” Emile says as he starts to ring him up before he takes a look at the DVD he’d chosen. “You ever seen these movies?” Emile asks before he makes his opinion known about them. For all he knew this guy loved Elle Woods and he didn’t want to offend even though he thought the sequel was unwatchable garbage.

[angstfactory]

"Twenty-five?" Fitzroy repeated in genuine surprise, because he would have said... twenty-two, at best. But it wasn't like the Brit himself had the most rugged and hard-featured faces himself, so. "I need your skin care routine," he joked, taking up residence on the stool besides the other without really waiting for a real invitation to join. Honestly, the drink had already been the silent question and Fitzroy answered it, that's how things went.

"Oof," he settled a hand over his chest, with a smile, "now you're just being hurtful, mate." Fitzroy was already enjoying himself. Then again, he didn't mind when someone spoiled him and offered attention-- he liked to be liked. "Twenty-nine, I just had a birthday," he shared, which had been a small affair at home. That may be surprising to some, since he came from money and their family liked to showboat with their reputation as often as possible-- a birthday seemed prime example to create a fuss over, especially for their only son. But Fitzroy had long since asked they be smaller, private affairs where they could relax and have fun without his having to parade about on best behavior on his day. Maybe his thirtieth would be something bigger, because it was one they'd all been uncertain he would make. Guess it was still never guaranteed, either. Still had another eleven months to it. "So, is this you saying you don't plan on leaving alone tonight?" Fitzroy asked boldly, lifting his drink again.

[lcser]

"Sunscreen," Emile answered simply. Even as a human he didn't spend a ton of time out in the sun. That was the only explanation he could give for his youthful appearance that wasn't just chalked up to good genetics. Both his parents had looked young for their age but he didn't often think of his family. That was a wound he didn't like to open knowing they likely would've all still been around today had he not gotten to them when he did.

"Happy belated birthday," Emile said. Emile's own twenties went by in a blur after he'd been turned. It'd taken years for Emile to get his bloodlust under control. He had it dialed in for the most part now but that was only because he never went too long without feeding. He was a menace when he was hungry and he was trying to keep a low profile living in Raven’s Peak. Still, it wasn’t the most comfortable being in a room full of horny humans ogling the talent on the stage but he didn’t plan to stay in the club for very long.

The question made Emile smirk. This guy was making things way too easy for him tonight. “I wasn’t planning on it, no,” he confirmed as he took a sip of his drink. The whole reason he came out was to find someone to take with him. He didn’t frequent bars for any other reason than to feed. “I’ve got a place not far from here,” he explained. Whether or not they actually made it back to his apartment tonight was too soon to tell. He wasn’t above having some company for a while before his meal but he was still feeling this guy out.

[losthavenmine]

The Lost Boys (1987)

[angstfactory]

"Ah, I love dancers," Fitzroy sighed, head tilted to the side just-so, as he watched the beautiful dame currently on stage, teeth lightly biting down on his bottom lip and rested back on his elbows. His mother would have a coronary if she knew he wandered into Club Crimson, yet it would hardly be the man's first time. Nor would it be the last. He had cash to spare and attention to give, so he might as well spoil the women -- and men -- rotten while he could, right? The couple of friends he came with all seemed to murmur their agreements, all four men seemingly mesmerized by the show. The British male specifically, truly enjoyed the show and admired the craft of it. Some of these dancers really knew their stuff and were amazing aerial acrobats (gymnasts? both!), honestly-- they climbed, spun, flipped, and all kinds of insanely wicked cool moves that seemed to defy what a body should be capable of. They ought to be damn proud of those abilities.

A tap on the shoulder. Fitzroy glanced back at the bartender. "From the gentleman down the bar." They nodded further down.

Fitzroy sat forward, looking over. Some fresh-faced young man stared back at him. His brows rose, wondering if this guy got in on a fake ID, he truly did have a baby face. But even still, it was a striking face. Very uniquely so, which was enough to interest him for a closer look. And it would be so very impolite, to accept a free drink and not at least say thank you. While he held more of a wine preference, whenever Fitzroy went out for actual drinks, he usually stuck with the French Martini. Excusing from his friends, the male took up his glass and came off the stool, now walking the few feet over to greet the other with a toast of gratitude. "Appreciate the drink, mate," Fitz said, giving it a brief sip as he considered the other up close now with some interest. "Did you use a fake one to pass the door?" he teased, though this was said much quieter as he leaned forward to say it. Not like he wanted to cause the man issue with the bartender or bouncers, of course. Just jokes... hopefully. He just had a birthday, next year he'd top a great milestone he and his family weren't so sure he'd make -- the big thirty -- so he'd rather not play around with someone too young.

[lcser]

While Emile certainly wasn’t above the use of compulsion he found it was often not even necessary when luring someone in. Just as expected the man was approaching him. “My pleasure. It looked like yours was nearly empty,” he commented. Even though Emile didn’t eat anymore he still found himself paying for his food every once in a while. A cocktail was worth the price.

The question didn’t catch Emile off guard he was used to those sorts of comments. He had a youthful appearance and had he had any say in the matter he wouldn’t have chosen to get turned before his frontal cortex had fully developed. Still he felt he looked over the age of twenty-one. “I’m twenty-five,” Emile answered the real question he’d been asked. He was in fact using a fake ID but not because he wasn’t old enough to be in a bar but because no one would believe he was actually sixty-two. Now that the man was in closer view he got a better look at him. He was handsome not that that mattered much when it came to selecting someone to feed off of. “Let me guess… you’re thirty-two?” Emile said throwing out his own number for the man. He wasn’t terribly great at guessing but he did appear older than him.

[mikael-blackwood]

There was a moment of pause for Mikael at the question as he tilted his head a bit confused by it.  “Um yes?”  Mikael’s eyes wandered around, wondering what area would be the best place to start.  “A lady never reveals her, oh you mean the movie.  My bad.”  A slight blush spread across his cheeks.  “Between the thirty and seventies.  Although late nineties and early two thousands had some gems.  But, we have all seen those before.  You know what I mean?”

Lifting his shoulders up in a shrug, “doesn’t matter.  Have a VHS player and DVD player.”  Why?  Because he kept everything, even got a storage unit to keep all these hidden treasures in so his place was not cluttered.  “So, what are your suggestions?  Hopefully something fun,” he commented.

[lcser]

“Yeah, I think I’ve got some ideas that could work,” he stated. Emile rarely cared about the release date of a movie when it came to what he watched. He still caught the occasional blockbuster though less and less films intrigued him nowadays as everything seemed to be a sequel of something or a remake.

Hearing he got both kinds of players Emile walked him towards the VHS selection. It would be a quicker search than their DVD selection that was quite a bit bigger and didn’t have nearly as many classics. “You ever seen American Graffiti?” Emile asked. “It’s one of George Lucas’s films. Made it before Star Wars,” Emile explained. It wasn’t exactly what he would call a chick flick though but it was a good end of summer film to watch. “I wouldn’t really call it a chick flick though. We do have like Roman Holiday or Some Like It Hot,” he added to his growing list of selections before leading him towards the romance section of the VHS. It was likely that he’d find his film somewhere in there even if he didn’t take his suggestions.

[thegraveyardshifts]

pale eyes watched the seemingly young looking man with interest, able to gauge what he was without much trouble - call it intuition but, sebastien knew other vampires almost on sight. it was the look, no matter how young the body, the eyes kept all those years like nothing else did. he burden of often hundreds of years could be simply piled on-top of your shoulders with the simple flick of them in your direction. "what a shame, you're really missing out," they responded with a sharp toothed smile, joking, knowing that the both of them didn't really need food.

"whatever's cheapest? it'd be the e-cig," though, sebastien couldn't really get on with those, and doubted the guy across from him could either. "sterling double wrapped. two packs'll set you back $20 - good luck trying to keep them together, they love unravelling,"

[lcser]

“I’m sure, Emile deadpanned. He wasn’t that big at making small talk even when in the presence of his own kind. The novelty of being around the supernatural had worn off on Emile a long time ago maybe before he’d even been turned.

“Tried those, I’m not a fan,” he informed him. If Emile was really trying to blend in with the twenty-five year olds of today he should probably switch to some sort of vape because that’s what he saw everyone in his peer group using nowadays but Emile was going to hold out as long as actual cigarettes could still be purchased. Give it another twenty years and he’s sure cigarette’s will go extinct. It’s not a day he looks forward to living.

Hearing what was offered made Emile scrunch up his nose in mild disgust. Okay, maybe he did have some standards when it came to cigarettes. Emile peered around the other vampire to take a look at the options available. “I’ll take some Lucky Strikes instead,” he said as he changed his mind. Naturally, he reached into his back pocket for his wallet to grab his card.

[xaveryxmoore]

Ever sine that night, things had been a little crazy, Avery was still healing, he did took a bit of a beating... well more than one, he was trying his best to get over it, though, but easier said than done. Finding the store, he couldn't help to walk in, boy, he really had to pay attenttion, how did he miss this place after living in Raven's Peak for over six months? "Oh," he looks over as he hears the voice, "I'm just looking around," she smiles, "At the risk of sounding like an old man, the nostalgia hit hard," he chuckles, "This is a great place! is it yours?"

[lcser]

“Yeah, a lot of people have said that,” he confirms. He’d worked at a Blockbuster in the 80s when he’d still been human and this place paled in comparison to that place during its heyday. Emile had watched video rental shops since their infancy and it was wild being around long enough to see the inevitable downfall of them. Video Vortex really was kind of a time capsule. He liked working here more than he did at Blockbuster especially because he didn’t have to wear a uniform.

“Thanks,” Emile said accepting the compliment on the store’s behalf. “Nah, it’s not mine. I just work here,” he explained. Being stuck at twenty-five until the end of his days kinda meant he was stuck in retail hell for all of eternity when it came to work and he’d worked all over the place at this point. He wasn’t old enough to have that generational wealth older vampires have the ability to acquire. While he saved a lot of money as a vampire there were still “living” necessities that kept him from ever being considered wealthy. Especially when he had a habit of spending his money quite easily.

“We’ve got DVD and VHS players available to rent if you do end up finding something,” Emile added. It sounded like the guy was new to the store and that was one of the shop’s selling points. It was definitely necessary since few people had anything to play movies off of that wasn’t some streaming service built into their smart TV.

[timotheecontent]

Timothée Chalamet in DON'T LOOK UP (2021) dir. Adam McKay

[mikael-blackwood]

Although there were many films one could find on streaming networks, there were those classics and cult films difficult to find.  Thankfully Raven’s Peak had a video store, when he lived in New York nearly everyone closed down because of streaming apps taking over the business.

As he made his way into the store, he looked around until he saw one of the workers and offered a smile.  “Trying to find a girl’s night in film, something older.”  Mikael explained.  Last thing he wanted was something in the last twenty or thirty years.  “Or maybe something different, something few have seen.  I dunno, not horror though.” For him, he would stay up all evening with nightmares.  “Is there something you suggest?”

[lcser]

“A girl’s night movie?” Emile repeated as he looked at the man. That wasn’t exactly the type of film he would peg the man to be looking for. While Emile didn’t feel he was the most qualified to give recommendations in that category a few movies did pop up in his mind. “How old are we talking?” Emile asked as a follow up question as he walked out from around the counter. Even though he appeared much younger than the man by his heartbeat he could tell he was old enough to be his dad and they would probably have different opinions on what counted as old in their books.

“I think I’ve got a few ideas. You looking for something on DVD or VHS?” He asked before he led them in any sort of direction. One of his first jobs back as a human had been working at a video rental shop back home so he’d always been someone who watched a lot of movies and he had a pretty extensive VHS and DVD collection at home. When you don’t have to buy food it’s easy to invest in hobbies and other luxuries.

[lcser]

Open starter for anyone Location: Video Vortex

Ever since hell seemingly broke loose in town, Emile's work had been busier than ever. They'd been relatively unscathed in the whole debacle and he saw more people coming in to rent movies and have a cozy night in while the town was under repair. He didn't blame them. In the ten years he'd lived in Raven's Peak he'd never seen such chaos before and he could see why people were spooked.

In between helping customers Emile was keeping busy as he rewound VHS tapes. It seems this generation had completely forgotten to "be kind and rewind". He was in the middle of rewinding a copy of Braveheart as he heard the chime on the door go off. "Welcome in," Emile greeted them without looking up from what he was up to. "Let me know if you need help finding anything."

[thegraveyardshifts]

location: 24-hour mini mart

the neon signs flash like a beacon of hope against the dark night in raven’s peak, illuminating the sidewalk and those who ignore its presence as they walk past. within, the false white lights bleach everything inside, overly harsh on the eyes that have adjusted to outside conditions – however, they make nothing look as bad as the clerk behind the till. If death were a colour, they would surely be it, skin the pallor of a corpse left too long eyes with little human warmth behind them all wrapped up in a body well over 6-foot. intimidating might be the word used to describe sebastien, who wasn’t fully aware of such a fact. or – was, and simply liked to play it off to lure others into a false sense of security. the door bleeped as someone came through, the vampire hunched over the counter in front of them with something small in their hands – tobacco of some sorts, rolling up cigarettes. it’s not like anybody was going to be there till around 4am, nobody checked the cameras when he was on shift as a vampire of his stature could surely handle himself. “hotdogs are half off due to being out of date,” they called out. “though, you have to sign a disclaimer saying if you perish to food poisoning, it’s got fuck all to do with us!” the food in question looked particularly unappetizing, rolling around on the machine designed to keep them warm enough to eat immediately though, sebastien figured some wolf would probably have them. not much they didn’t eat, he’d found.

[lcser]

If he wasn't already dead his lungs would be blackened beyond recognition with the amount of cigarettes he smoked. Even though they no longer gave him the same nicotine rush they did when he was a human it was a habit he never quit. It was still an addiction for the vampire even though there was nothing that actually compelled him to smoke anymore. Maybe he had some oral fixation he'd never gotten over as a kid.

That was how he found himself at the mini mart tonight. He was out of smokes and that simply wouldn't do. It wasn't a far walk from his apartment downtown and he quickly approached them at the counter. At once he could tell they were a vampire and that brought Emile some comfort. He could let his guard down some around his own kind. "I'll pass," he stated in regards to the hotdogs. He hadn't even liked those when he was human.

"I'm just looking to buy two packs of smokes, whatever's cheapest right now," he requested. He didn't have any allegiance to any particular brand anymore. He'd smoked about every type of cigarette out there at this point and didn't have any favorites. All he knew was he didn't like vaping. It wasn't nearly as satisfying of an experience and he'd tried.