You can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars.

┌── ⋆⋅🌕⋅⋆ ──┐ ༻☾⟡ The Illuminated Moon ✦ IRA ⟡ Cartoonist ✦ 24 ⟡☽༺ └── ⋆⋅🌕⋅⋆ ──┘ ☯︎

[mccnbright]

HEY, i think i just saw IRA MACALISTAIR-VITELLI walking down the strip. stop by to catch up and you’ll learn the TWENTY-FOUR is working as a/an CARTOONIST and lives in MANOR SUITES. given they are PLAYFUL but MOODY, it’s likely that they ARE NOT a vampire. on the flipside, rumor has it that TOOK THE BLAME FOR SOMEONE CLOSE TO HIM, RESULTING IN HIM PAYING THE PRICE FOR IT, ENDING IN HIS SEVERE INJURING AND HOSPITALIZATION FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS. i bet you can find them tearing up the dance floor to HOT GIRL BUMMER BY BLACKBEAR and you’ll know why they’re called THE ILLUMINATED MOON  ☾ .⭒˚ Tanner Buchanan. Cis Male + He/Him. Bisexual + Pisces.

General Information

Full name: Ira Aster Macalistair-Vitelli Reason or meaning of name: Ira- Watchful/vigilant Aster- Star Macalistair-Vitelli- Man's defender/Life Nicknames: Reason for nicknames: Age: 24 How old does he/she appear: 24 Nationality: American Religion: None Place of birth: Primm, Nevada The current living place: Las Vegas, Nevada Job title: Cartoonist Employing company: A wide variety, including newspapers. Income: n/a Socioeconomic status: n/a Is he or she married? No Pets: A horse named Nugget. TBD Known Languages: American English/Japanese/German/Italian Birthday: March 12 Does he or she own a home? He does not. Clubs/Memberships: Comics club/Horse racing club/Art club/Debate club. Public perception of them: He has a pretty good perception from the rest of society around him. Plays a musical instrument?: No. Plays a sport?: Yes. He plays field hockey. Does some horse racing. Also takes part in games of volleyball, street racing, basketball and wrestling. As well as any other sort of contact sports. How he/she would spend a rainy day: More than likely, he is inside drawing or taking care of his horse at the stables. Drinks: Mostly at events or parties. Other drugs: No. What does the character like?

Magic tricks Science fiction Movies Fortune telling Dying his hair Destruction Boxing

What does the character dislike?

Toads Spiders Cops Indie music Seashells Thanksgiving

Background

Trigger Warnings For: Anxiety tw/violence tw

Born the younger of a pair of fraternal twins, Ira was born alongside his twin to his mother Shaldeen and father [tbd]. In his infancy, he lived in Primm City with his parents and twin. At an unknown time, his parents split [either due to the death of his father, or any other sort of separation where he is alive]. Ultimately, Ira and his twin were made to live with their mother, who would later meet Augustu Vitelli, and marry him. Which would lead to Ira becoming a stepchild to the Vitelli gang leader. Though it remains to be seen what kind of relationship they may have had during his time growing up with his other adopted/step-siblings or stepfather.

Ira's childhood was a bit problematic. As he was born with a mutation that removed pigment from his hair, leaving his hair completely white. As well, he has a learning disorder, which got him teased and bullied from both. In childhood, he was easily bullied for this oddity. This caused him to have some troubles with his development, and for many years, he had suffered from severe selective mutism due to this bullying and mistreatment by others, which resulted in severe anxiety at this time in his life. Because of this early development in his life, Ira had started to develop other ways to deal with being silenced and his bullying as the years went on.

One such way was to allow his anger to take hold. This erupted one day when a classmate cut his left ear with a pair of scissors, leaving a large slice in Ira's left ear. By the time the scuffle was stopped by a teacher, the bully who cut his ear was on the ground, sobbing and bloodied. Ira had himself been left bloodied and part of his ear detached from the rest, most of his shirt being badly stained. But otherwise, he was left unharmed in the fight. This injury, however, had hurt Ira more than just the wound itself, and even therapy for his mutism had to come to a pause because he was left in a state.

Though by the time he had reached middle school Ira had gone through his therapies and started to speak more, and began making friends. Though not as silenced anymore by his early anxieties, he could still have moments when he could not bring himself to speak. Many of those were during moments of anger. This anger, combined with his cold, unwavering silence and propensity toward fighting fellow classmates throughout middle school and high school, got him a fairly intimidating reputation among people, especially fellow classmates. By the time Ira had even left middle school behind him, he was already in juvie for assaulting another classmate, with up to three of his schoolmates in a classic fight at a local park. Something out of Outsiders, with mainly middle schoolers.

In high school this kind of behavior continued to grow in severity with Ira getting his ass kicked as well as his little gang of friends, as much as they kicked other groups of teenagers asses. It was, at least for anyone running in this circle, often an annoying break in the day for most other students, or an entertainment for some. By the time Ira and his friends were seniors about to graduate, though, things did calm down, at least enough for them to try and carry on normal lives after school. Ira got really focused on his school work, and his art work near the end of high school. This seemed to drag him away from the life of crime he was heading for in the previous years. At least for a little while.

When he was twenty-one, Ira had established himself as a cartoonist around town. Going to the local papers to offer his work, and other places that might need artwork done. This got him some minor fame among the rest of Vegas and some other places around Nevada.

Self-Para's

Notable events/milestones: TBD. Accomplishments: TBD. Memories: TBD. Criminal record: Yes. Speeding tickets. Car accidents. Civil disruptions. Fighting/Physical assaults. Affiliations: Member of the VITELLI FAMILY. Skeletons in the closet: TBD.

Relationships

Grandparents: Unknown Parents: Shaldeen Macalistair (Mother, deceased)/Unknown father/Augustu Vitelli (Stepfather). Siblings: Meera Chettiar-Vitelli (Older stepsister)/Tomo Katsumura (Older adopted brother)/ Kineret Vitelli (Younger adopted sibling). Wife or husband: None. Children: None. Other important persons: tbd Partner(s)/Significant other(s): tbd Lover(s): tbd Best friends: tbd Friends: tbd Rivals: tbd Enemies: tbd Colleagues: tbd Mentors/Teachers: tbd Idols/Role models: tbd Unnatural things: tbd

Physical Characteristics

Addictions: None Bad Habits:

When eating with silverware, he holds the utensils with is full fist, or just uses his bare hands on certain food, usually. He doesn't really like people who are too gloomy. He tends to answer for others when they are taking to long to do it themselves. Ira never puts any of his clothes where they belong. Clean clothes always seem to stay in the basket or washing/drying machine, dirty clothes on the floor. He has a problem with chewing on things that are not food, not obsessively or disorderedly, but perhaps a little of an oral fixation. He's not a big fan of people who are too posh.

Color of Eyes: Green-blue sea foam-like color. The color of Hair: White. Type of hair: Hair is cut on the shorter side, no longer than the length of the tips of his ears, and shorter in the back. Hairstyle: He wears his hair most often either combed back, or let's it fall wildly wherever. The color of Skin: Tanned, peachy warm colored skin. Fashion style: He enjoys wearing things that are more of an oceanic or surfer style and color. To add to that, he is often wearing some kind of hat or beanie. More preferences toward lighter colors and more practical outfits otherwise. Also enjoys wearing a little more retro-inspired outfits. Favorite outfits: Here. Accessories: Beanie/Hair clip/Watch/Bracelet with letters/Eyeglasses/Art supply/Multitools Cleanliness/Grooming: As far as grooming and cleanliness go for Ira, it's not good, nor is it bad. It's about average. He's a pretty active guy most of the time, with his keen interest in sports and such. Though sometimes he just goes through moods where he negates these things, for whatever reason. He doesn't 'stink' nor 'smell good', he just kind of usually smells average, or doesn't smell like much of anything at all. Posture/Gait: tbd Coordination (or lack thereof): He has excellent coordination, even while completely intoxicated, or otherwise. Does the character drink regularly? No. Only during special occasions. Does the character have any disabilities/conditions?

Anxiety-induced Selective mutism Migraines Bipolar III Dyslexia

Does the character smoke? Yes. Good Habits:

He's good with guns, but under too much pressure, he is likely to mess up. He has great penmanship, immaculate, some would even say. Ira tends to mesh well with people who are dreamers. Likes to be exactly on time, every time. He is drawn to items that are 'cute'.

Height: 5'8” Weight: 137 Body type: Athletic Fitness level: Average Tattoos: None Scars/Birthmarks: 13 scars Hobbies:

Creative Writing Swimming Food preservation Archery Drawing Rugby Golf

Is he/she wearing glasses? Yes. Is the character healthy or does he have any diseases? No. What’s the style of the character? (modern, outmoded): tbd

Mental Characteristics

Education: High School Diploma IQ: 126 Skills/talents: Interrogation/Animal Handling/Explosives/Investigation/Intimidation/Swimming. Fears: Rejection/Humiliation/Worthlessness. Optimist or pessimist?: Pessimist Daredevil or cautious?: Daredevil Logical or emotional?: Emotional Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat?: Disorderly and messy all the way! Prefers working or relaxing?: He does actually enjoy working. Confident or unsure of himself/herself?: He is pretty unsure of himself, and has been like that probably his entire life. Animal lover?: Yeah! Of course! Self-perception: He has a pretty okay perception of himself most of the time. He thinks he's alright, anyway. Not the worst person anyone could know, but probably not the best, either. Assumed external perception: Again, he thinks he's pretty okay, all around. Self-Confidence: Ira has pretty average self-confidence at the best of times. Maybe a little to the point where he might be annoying at times with it. Rational Or Emotional: Oh it's got to be emotional! Such a moody one he is. Personality traits: Playful/Masculine/Reliable/Hardworking/Sociable/Dominating/Outspoken/Competitive/Aggressive/Moody/Self-indulgent/Boisterous/Callous. Personality type: ENFJ-T Enneagram: tbd Character archetype: tbd Zodiac: Pisces Moral Alignment: tbd Temperament: tbd Animal Types: tbd Aura: tbd Chakra: tbd Hogwarts House: tbd Patronus: tbd Ilvermorny House: tbd Introvert/Extrovert: tbd Holland Code: tbd Morals/Virtues: tbd Sins/Vices: tbd Dark Triad: tbd Elemental: tbd Avatar Element: tbd Divergent: tbd Loves: tbd Obsessed with: tbd More Secrets: tbd Regrets: tbd Preferred communication methods: tbd Style and pacing of speech: tbd Pitch: tbd Laughter: tbd Smile: tbd Use of gestures: tbd Facial expressions: tbd Verbal expressions: tbd

Emotional Characteristics

How does the character cope with fury and rage? He can definitely be the type to be very "Want to fight about it?" And not wait for the other person to answer before throwing punches. … with unhappiness? Tends to just repress it for as long as he can. … with rivalry? I believe "Fight me!" suits this one best. … with new situations? He's actually pretty good with these. He's probably also used to them. … with trouble? Well he is smart enough to try and find peaceful solutions to problems. But hey, if worse comes to worst, he can also default to hitting it with a hammer. People, things, it makes no difference to him. What’s his or her meaning of life? He hasn't figured that one out yet. What makes this character happy? Basically, hanging out with his people, that's about all he needs. But then doing hobbies and working, going to his usual clubs. Is the character often biased? For a few things, yeah, sure. Does the character prefer to give or to take? Maybe take more than give.

Character Questions

Here

[thcshyster]

The air in the house had become thick, several different influences mingling together to make each room feel difficult to sit in. He imagined it would relent eventually, with time. The loss of Agustu's was a hard blow, to himself, to the children, to the business. The changing of ranks had certainly caused some division between the siblings, which seemed inevitable given Agustu had not outwardly named a successor.

There seemed to be less direct fighting than could be expected. That was good, at least. They should all be sticking together right now. Strength came in numbers. Voltures were sure to ensue from all sides and the best way to combat that was as a unit, a family. Best case scenario, that would also heal with time.

The past few days had been filled with reunions. Most of the faces that haunted the halls were ones he had known. Some of the ranks were new, the lower end at least. That was to be expected, though. No one lasted too long without moving up eventually. And the family, well, they would always be family.

Another face, one Jimmy had yet to see in the past few years, emerged from down the hall. He lifted his gaze from the folder he was studying in his hand to rest his eyes on Ira.

Before Jimmy could answer his first question, he answered it himself. "Couldn't say no." He spoke with a tight smile. It was a phrase he was repeating alot these days, the easiest explanation without getting into to much detail. And it was true enough.

"Admittedly, not much." He felt no need to hide anything. He had been out of the loop a long time. There were many things to catch up on and there had not been enough time. There was business that had been time sensitive and that had taken priority over anything else. "I was hoping to be filled in on that soon." He raised a brow as if to question why Ira asked, as if you ask if he planned to elaborate.

[mccnbright]

Ira glanced down toward the folder in the other's hands, then, sticking his hand out curiously, he tried to get a better look at its contents before pulling his head back in when Jimmy looked at him, offering a slightly crooked grin in return. Before turning his head and gaze somewhere else for a moment, pretending he wasn't interested at all in the folder.

“Oh. Right. That's cool! I guess. It makes sense.” He, even if he wasn't in agreement, this wasn't really his forte. Looking back then, he scanned his eyes over the other now, fully. They were older now, it had been some time since he had even seen the man. “Where have you been hiding all this time, huh?”

He thought about that response for a moment. But he wasn't going to be of much help. No one really told him anything about all this stuff, anyway. Ira tapped his right hand to his side, “Dad's dead. The house is a mess. I don't know what I'm saying.” Laughing a little, he gave a small round of head nods. He did not plan to elaborate. He had nothing he could, to be fair, “All I really understand is that, well, not everything is as it seems with it? All this. A three-headed dog, too! The mystery is a food, Watson!”

[mccnbright]

Location: Vitelli Estate With: James @thcshyster

Inspecting the room where it all happened, Ira stares at the bathroom door, tilting his head a little to it. It all seemed like it was some kind of scene from a video game. The door had quickly been replaced, the blood cleaned, the bed changed. But that did not make the room less haunted by the images of that weird dog thing coming through the bathroom door. What was Alessandro doing behind it? Why were the doors stuck? Ira looked toward the exit.

Everything about that day seemed so very off. From what was going on with his siblings, to Francisco becoming don with little resistance. Ira frowned, he didn't want to be involved in this family stuff. It was always a lot of drama, it would always be a lot of drama. He was better sticking to his art. But his mother was dead. His twin was keeping to themselves a lot these days, since then. It didn't seem to matter how much he didn't want to be involved, fate had decided he was destined to be it seemed.

Exiting the room, Ira made his way down the hallway away from the room. The atmosphere of the entire estate was off. He didn't like how people moved. How people had been changing in the rankings, old faces coming back. One that he was walking toward right now, James Batts, “What are you doing here? I thought you retired?” He asked, curious. Smiling a little then, “Franco brought you back in, right?” He supposed his step-father's childhood best friend was not the worst pick, but he was sticking with his guns with Azazel being the better adviser. James seemed too close and too comfortable, from what he remembered in his childhood. But, he was no expert in mobs, of course, “How much have you been told about what happened to him?” Ira asked, still having that picture he drew of Augustu's weird-looking hands.

[alwaysthehunter]

Bambi wasn't typically the type to enjoy the newspaper they found it often too fluffy for the city, to much propaganda for the gangs and mobs that ran the whole stack of cards that she couldn't bare to swallow it with her morning coffee; but Ira's comic strips spoke to something in them, something that made them stop and grab one every once in awhile just to look at the back to have a brief laugh at the sake of the stupidity of the whole place. "I loved your piece on the goob lagoon, it was biting without being too bitter or leaving a bad taste in my mouth." She shrugged simply, thinking of the simple little strip pinned up at her desk letting everyone around her know her stance on the bullshit that happened that night...well not everything. Speaking of that night, biting her lip she took a deep breath before swallowing harshly once more. "I think I saw something that night, It might have been my mind playing tricks on me...or the stupidly strong drinks but I think I saw something? I think it was humanish? I was in the bushes trying to find somewhere to use the bathroom because the lines for the woman's were so goddamn long that at point it was so not worth it when I got side tracked and was following this trail of something- I know it wasn't syrup because my job and when I finally got to the source it kinda....darted off?"

[mccnbright]

Staring at them as they spoke, he gave a nod to their words, listening closely to what they had to say. Considering what they said, he smiled, proud of his work, and that someone had enjoyed it so, “Yes! That's what I was aiming for. I could have pushed a little more.” He paused, thinking back to that night, remembering some of the outfits he had drawn into the strip, along with the commentary, “Weird night that that was, and all!” Ira swallowed thickly, trying to not to think too much about what he had seen of The Cracked Jewel in that moment, or the mayor, for that matter. He wasn't quite sure what was even going on there. Not just in what was going on with those two, but everything else that had happened that night. It was very confusing to him. But, easily, he had gotten out of it in the end and would leave all of that to just a very elaborate series of tricks and illusions. Magic tricks! Right! Very good magic tricks.

Catching the other biting their lip, he realized they were thinking of the night, as well, and he wanted to badly to ask about their thoughts on it more. But would rather keep it mystified. However, as Bambi spoke up, he realized, perhaps only in part, he was getting what he was hoping for. Blinking at what he was hearing, Ira lowered his head a little then, “Saw…what? Humanish?” He supposed many people seen something near-human that night, many people being dressed up, as well, as, the tricks. He continued to listen to them.

His face scrunched a little bit as they brought up a trail…of…something not Syrupy? Tilting his head slightly, Ira glanced away, taking a moment to connect the dots. Before his eyes widened a bit at realizing what they might be saying, it was, “Oh.” Ira stayed quiet for a moment, then asked, “What would you say it looked like?”

[alessandroxvitelli]

Status: Open Where: Utp (No bars) When: December 27th, 1996

Alessandro had dove head first into work, who would have thought organizing charity events could be so much work? Right now he was putting together a little something for New Year's Eve, everyone in Vegas, well mostly everyone in Vegas wanted to be on the good side of Augustu Vitelli, and one of the best ways to do that was to give them money, so a charity gala seemed the perfect idea. A party really in any other name, but people preferred gala, it sounded classier. He was walking with the event planner they'd hired talking over details.....

"Logistically I don't see the problem, we could fit that many people into that space, just make sure it looks....you know fancy. I want it dripping elegance, class.....like something the Queen of England would be hosting, but I also want it to be fun....so don't book shitty entertainment." He paused when he saw a face that looked familiar and like they were very much waiting for his attention. "Now if you excuse me, other matters to attend to."

Walking away, he made his way over to them. "I'd say take a picture it would last longer, but truthfully I don't think I am entirely up for pictures right now. Was there something you needed me for? And mind the babysitter." Eyes glancing towards the two Vitelli suits following behind him. "He does report back to daddy on every naughty thing I could potentially do."

[mccnbright]

Despite not being anything to do with major organization goings on that had to do with Vitelli, Ira was very aware of such things and often played witness to it. Easily spotting the fresh blond as they made their way with the event planner for the gala he had heard about, Ira made his way over to his older step-brother, listening in on what the other was saying before he made himself known, he blinks, “Mhm. Mhm.” Ira then sounded off, “Yeah. This space looks massive.” He looked around. Of course, it was. The artist grinned before looking to Alessandro once again, approaching the other.

Gesturing with his sketchpad, he knocked his head to one side a little bit, “No theme? Like, something Poe-ish would be funny. Red Death? A room a different color each? Then, some creep dressed in red going about spooking people…” Raising his free hand then, he made a claw motion toward his brother, playful. Then laughed, “You see why I never get asked about any of this shit.” Waving his sketchpad around vaguely, “So this is what Dad and Azazel's got you out here doing these days?” Not wanting to bring up the conditioning vacation the other had been on, he kept it simple.

“Hey wait-” Following Alessandro away from the planner, Ira turned to look over for this 'babysitter', looking over to find Azazel was there, he moved his head in a bit, “Oh. Didn't see him there-” Giving a small wave toward the older Vitelli member, who looked like he was having a smoke at the moment. Ira then turned his attention back toward Alessandro, ignoring the two others along with them, “You really fucked up last time if you have to have two.” Ira teased lightly, “And you're blond now?” Ira glanced the other over, “And looking a little like you've been really working out. Are you actually taking this new life that seriously?” He looked at the other, surprised, “ It's weird, you know, when you call him daddy.” Ira shook his head, by now, though, he was used to Alessandro calling Augustu daddy, kinda, “So…straight and narrow from now on?”

[partiallypearl]

TANNER BUCHANAN AS ROBBY KEENE IN COBRA KAI S6EP1 - Peacetime in the Valley

[b4rredteeth]

Rys nodded, though he was also one of those. He hadn't changed much since high school, maybe a bit, since he no longer had to listen to his parents.

He didn't understand what the other meant. "How do you mean? Can lead to things being more difficult?"

Everything had been difficult, though it wasn't really about them, when it came to their parents. They simply had to follow whatever their parents requested, and it was their disappointment when they couldn't follow through that had hurt the most. They didn't see his effort, they only saw his failure.

They nodded enthusiastically. "I don't know much about politics, but I love comics! A lot! I like funny the most, though I do get like... the political commentary in the comics."

"X-men! That's such a great one! I definitely think that one has like... uhm, the things you described like political commentary! It's one I like also, more because it's like a bunch of misfits and like... you know, it's very much about minorities." Which Rys was and had always been.

He agreed with a constant nodding. He had seen the cartoon, he did think the voice was awesome, he did think Rogue's story was unique and so interestingly handled. He wasn't great at saying more than a few words about it however.

"Yes! Absolutely! I loved the cartoon, and the comics are great, I think Rogue is an interesting character, but I personally really love Beast."

He nodded. "I think... people are afraid that if you're honest, that people will be mean about it, or think you're too honest. I do usually uhm... I usually try to be honest, somethings I am more eager to please than to be honest. I was super honest when I was a kid."

[mccnbright]

At the question, Ira offered a careless shrug to it, “I used to have a lot of rage issues as a kid and stuff. Had a bad home life.” He figured he was still having a bad home life in some measure, even. But separation had worked well for him, for what he was managing to give himself space for, from Augustu and the Vitelli operation.

Nodding along with the others' comment, “Probably a good idea. Most of it's dumb, greedy, and worthy of making jokes about.” He laughed lightly, “But people will eat that stuff up, for sure. So why not cash in?” Ira nodded, rationalizing his reasoning for making commentary on politics through art, “Well, I like to dip my toes in a wide range of comic stuff, so there's more than just the political comics! I make fun of my family a lot in one of my main serials.”

“Oh it's got a lot going on, for sure! That's why it's such a great series. Sure, political, but the social aspects are really the meat of it. How people who are different from what is thought to be normal, get outcasted. That stuff is real delicious to read on. It's not just about the normal guy, coping with this gift, like spiderman. Or Batman.” Though he liked those, as well, X-Men held a chokehold on those being treated different, could lead to all sorts of paths in a life.

“Beast? Really? Yeah, he's not bad. Not my most favorite, but definitely an interestin' character!” Nodding to that, Ira listened as Emrys continued.

He thought about the others reasoning, then grinned, “Yeah. I can see that. It's great to be your honest self. Even if people don't like it sometimes, right? I'm learning that. That it doesn't matter what other people don't like, as long as you're honest and true in being yourself, they can do whatever they want, in the end. I'm not going to change myself for someone else. If honesty hurts so much, maybe I don't want to even know that person. You know?” He nodded his head to that, “We can't have yes men all around us, it doesn't help us grow. It can't be great to be accepted by fakes who just want to control you.” It, in a way, reminded him of growing up with Augustu.

[mccnbright]

[mccnbright]

[ofdesertroses]

I THINK WE SHOULD GO NOW

closed starter: ira & spencer, vitelli master bedroom, new year’s day 1997, plot drop augustu’s death

this wasn't supposed to happen. he wasn't supposed to lose the only parent he actually got to know for most of his life. he was twelve when he came into augustu's life, when the older man saved the scared child he was the first time met. he wasn't the best father, but he was the only one that spencer knew, loved. and now his worst nightmare has happened, augustu was gone and despite having siblings, spencer felt alone.

staring down at his father, all he could wonder was how did this happen. how did they go from celebrating the holiday to discovering the death of their dad? it made no sense to spence. to him, augustu was invincible, immortal. but seeing his lifeless body, one without his soul, the reality that his dad was gone started to break through. he didn’t intend to be so close to the body, but the commotion in the room had pushed him and ira closer to augustu. and being closer to the bed meant a harder of an escape from the master bedroom they were all locked in. spencer wanted to get out. he didn’t care about the vote. hell voting was the last thing on his mind. the room was suddenly too small and he found self sinking back into the wall hoping that it would swallow him whole.

but he was still observant and with his and ira's close proximity to their dad's dead body, he was still able to notice something rather odd about augustu's fingernails. he watched as ira draw down what spence had pointed out. even taking a look at it once the drawing was done, spencer wasn't sure exactly what they were apparently looking at. "hold onto it tightly or put it into your pocket." he whispered to ira because he didn't want anyone to know what they discovered without the two of them figuring it out between themselves. for a brief second, he allowed himself to breathe whatever breath he was holding in. he lets it out slowly, feeling the tension in is body start to loosen. of course with his luck, it's short lived.

the room is too crowded and it appears that they all somehow forgot that their dad's dead body is starting to smell, like many decaying bodies do. the smell doesn't give the eldest urgency to leave. he can't just leave. none of them can. however, seeing the doctor knocking on the bathroom door and hearing strange noises, was a sign to spencer that maybe he should get out. thus leading him to grab ira to start leading them both out of the room. "i don't know what's going on but we need to get out and quick."

and that's what he had been trying to do for what felt like an eternity but only for a few seconds. somehow they made it to the door. spencer was the first to start hitting the door with his shoulder. they both were at this point, but even with their strength combined, it was still a struggle to get the locked door open. "fuck it's pointless," spencer screeched, feeling his should hurt and giving up on his effort. "we need to get out of here, bro. but like ...." he stops his words as the creature emerges from the bathroom and starts to come towards everyone. "what --- the --- who is that?"

"ira....please lets figure out what we can do to get out. maybe get him to come towards us? probably get the door knocked open."

[mccnbright]

With the news, Ira had hung up the phone when Azazel finished speaking, sitting for a quiet moment. How was he supposed to respond to that? How could he respond to something like that? Easy. He didn't care that Augustu was dead. It was Augustu's fault his mother was dead. Even though he may not have done it personally himself. It was because Augustu had taken her as his own, and in that, caused a ripple effect that led to his mother's death. His mind did not linger long on Augustu, it lingered only on getting his mother. His twin. Those two were the only ones he cared about. His other siblings, in part. Rising from his bed, he started his daily routine a little earlier than normal, not in much of a rush to go sit with a dead body while a discussion of the future of the Vitelli organization was being held.

He had never emotionally accepted Augustu as his father. Staring down at the dead body before him now, he still felt nothing at all. He wanted answers for his mother's death, which upset him, because Augustu might have had some answers for why she had to die. But he contained himself in that moment, frowning down toward the corpse that had caused him so many problems all these years. Thinking that was exactly where Augustu Vitelli belonged, a dead body everyone would forget about soon enough. Holding his hands together in front of him, he looked over at Francisco when the other began to speak, raising his eyebrows at what he was witnessing. Then, giving a small shrug, he turned his head away.

It was not until the vote was held that he returned his attention to what was going on that way. He looked around the room, not wanting to vote. To be honest, this was dumb, and who actually had any power here to demote Azazel? Francisco wasn't anything remotely close to holding any power to do that, and they had no underboss. It really boggled his mind. He turned his head a little, leaning in toward Spencer a bit, “He does realize he's not in charge, right? Azazel holds the most power here, and he's …just… “ Making a talking motion with his hand, he laughed a little, “Talky.” The guy was eccentric, as well, which was very amusing to Ira. Though he knew not to test their consigliere, because of the other stories that came with him. The entire reason for why he had come to his position of Augustu's personal adviser. No, Ira had full faith in Azazel's competence, especially with Francisco not being in power and trying to cast this vote. When it came to voting in favor of Azazel, Ira raised his hand. As it had been the only rational, logical, and right thing to do. Otherwise, this whole thing was dumb, and he wanted no part of it.

Lowering his hand as he was nudged by Spencer and his attention was made to be toward Augustu's fingertips, he frowned in observation of what he was seeing, glancing momentarily toward his oldest sibling when the other moved to distract him and the corpse for a moment. Taking the sketchpad out of his backpack, he moved to start drawing the strange anomaly on Augustu's fingers. Then showed it to Spencer, giving a nod when the other told him to hold onto it. What else was he going to do with it? Stuffing the sketchpad back into his backpack, he returned it to his back and continued standing quietly, observing the goings-on for a time. His attention moved toward his twin, then back to some noises going on by the bathroom. Quirking an eyebrow, Ira jerked back a little, not liking whatever was going on that way. It didn't sound right. He took a few steps back. Then nodded when Spencer talked about getting out of the room, “You think?”

Moving with the other toward the doors to the master bedroom, Ira watched the other hit the door with their shoulder for a moment, before moving to help, though the shock of hitting the solid wood doors against his already, still, injured from the accident body, caused a shock of pain to wash over his body, hurting his chances of getting the door open significantly. Eventually, having to stop, he rubbed his arm and shoulder, wincing before nodding. It didn't seem normal, this unbending door seemed to be stuck by some other means than just a simple lock. Ira looked over then as the noise in the bathroom exploded into the room, the door crushing Eric under it, “What do you mean 'who'? What…is that fucking thing?!” He moved to press to the master bedroom doors, trying to shrink away from that…whatever was it was, dog? Creature…thing!

Staring at Spencer, the younger man looked away to the creature, then to his older sibling once more, “Distract it? No! Fuck that, we have to get out of here!” He had to get to his twin, though. Ira turned ready to run to grab the other before, to protect them if he needed. But he had to do that without calling attention to himself from the creature, “How do you think we'll distract that thing?!” He turned back to looking at the door, then around the room for any item to use to throw at it, but then, they would be the target? No. They had to open this door, that's what needed to happen. How would they get this creature to do that without getting themselves attacked by it? Ira didn't see any way otherwise. Someone had to make a sacrifice, or let that thing ravage the room.

[thecther]

it was only a cashier job but elise frequently drifted from her post in the quieter time periods to assist customers with selections and talk to them. it was odd for her seen as she didn't really cherish her actual friends, or rather ex friends that came on the 'holiday' with her. she had deceived her and for what purpose? university couldn't be this boring that a young woman would pack up and move into a motel, followed by more temporary accommodation just to pull off an unbelievable facade. it was a facade and she was dealing with its challengers - granted she'd already been called a fake but she wouldn't argue too much with that family member as that would look suspicious in itself.

"i do. but can you believe a customer complained because they didn't like ingmar bergman?" looking down at the selection the other had made, elise chuckled. "well, we definitely have different tastes but i don't think a complaint about recommendations is warranted. if you don't like it, great, then just tell me why." peering into the selection, the blonde crossed her arms. "i watched a film recently and it's - life really imitates art..." through the glass darkly was in her mind and the stunt the supposed woman pulled at that wedding reception several months back couldn't be that far off. "can't say i've watched any of these. is there something that you recommend?"

[mccnbright]

“You think a lot of people got a lot of nothing going on to complain about anything like that through the phone?” Laughing at this, he squinted down toward some more movies he was eyeing to watch that night, “Nah. Sounds like that person was just wanting to let off some steam, and you just happened to be on the other line.” Ira shook his head, “Happens a lot, I'd suspect, in that kind of thing. I could never be anywhere anyone could complain about such things, phones especially.” Shaking his head, he looked back over toward her.

Ira reached out toward a movie, nodding as she explained more, this time on a movie she had seen, “What movie would that be?” He asked, finding it interesting what other people were into. Art, especially as movies. A lot of great artistically done movies had been great watches in his opinion. Not that he had much shared in these movies, there seemed to be not many that surrounded him that watched movies that were too artsy. Then, looking toward the movies he was standing in front of, seeing how they were so artsy, he supposed none of them spoke much on life imitating art, either. But each of them had something special to them, for him, “Never? Most of them are foreign animations. This one is about big robots.” He showed the one he had in hand.

“Others…are about fighting, or monsters. My Neighbor Totoro wasn't that bad. Though maybe I'm more interested in this stuff, being an artist. Probably best to ask what you might be lookin' for? Or in a mood for. Helps me find something.”

[alwaysthehunter]

"I've seen your work in the newspaper and it's really good." Bambi rocketed out with nervous energy that she wasn't used to having, fingers nervously brushing her straight black hair from her face as she spoke gently clearing her throat. "I need something sketched out but it's just a blur to be honest- I can pay you if you need but it's been stuck in my head for awhile now." That was being nice to herself, she had to take a month of work and clear her head after the incident trying to convince herself that what she saw wasn't what it was; she almost checked herself into a mental ward wondering if everything in her past had finally made her crack. "It will sound crazy - believe me it will sound fucking batshit but I just need this sketched out...I'm not even sure I know what I saw to be honest...I must already sound fucking nuts." She scoffed out, shaky hands tilting her head up and almost rolling her own eyes at herself; Bambi wondering if she might have gone to far.

[mccnbright]

Lifting his head slightly, he made a face, “Thanks. I'm glad it's so popular.” Of course, the satire did not get across to a lot of people. Or make many important figures across Las Vegas stand out for their often hilarious antics, “Got any favorites?” He asked curiously. Though as they continue, he is listening, giving a few nods of his head, “Well, any details could work. Blur is not the worst to work with.” But it wasn't the best either, “You can pay for it as you can, no worries. You got me at a good time.”

“I've heard a lot of crazy in my life. So, surprise me.” Ira replied, grinning briefly. Though he considered the rest of what Bambi had said, making a face as he thought their words over, “So, a mystery! Well, I like a good mystery of the unknown! I can draw your …uhhm thing.” Ira continued, “Well, you'll be among great company. Seems these days a lot of people might be fucking nuts around here. You know, from all the rumors.”

[b4rredteeth]

”Greek history? Arre yaar, I am a Muslim from India, as far as history goes all I know is British empire bad, Muslims also bad, and the Hindu holy texts good.” His father had never backed down from speaking truth to power, even when it made people uncomfortable. Zakir was less eager to get even more points against him, but people this side of the world often didn’t care much for Indian politics, so he was free to voice whatever his father had raised him with.

”Dion is a Greek? You know more than I do. Was he a philosopher?” Because that was all Zakir knew: all famous Greeks were philosophers.

”Bismallah, that is the truth. It is what my imam has always taught me, and what I will always take with me. Judge a person on their actions, but if you are a good person, do not judge at all. God loves us all equally, and we must treat our fellow humans with kindness.”

“Me? Yaar, I am a farcry away from being interesting! I work at the city hall here behind us, as a secretary. All my days end late and there is little joy to be found. Now you, habibi, you seem to have a very great story, a man, or not a man, I don’t wish to assume, who has made a name as an artist! Where can I find this art of yours? Will I understand it? Or does it require some knowledge I have yet attained?”

[mccnbright]

Ira didn't know much about any of what the other had said. But he was quite young enough to remember Hands Across America commercials as far back as 1986. Which told everyone to treat everyone the way you wanted to be treated, or something. He wasn't really paying attention and was actively involved in fights at his school. So the lesson failed, in part, “Ah. Well, I'm not religious, and I like remembering history badly.” He didn't think he needed to say much else to that for the most part, everything else seemed to be very obvious. It was true, most didn't know much about, or do much with, the world outside of the states, too much. The general population was focused on more homemaking.

“Yeah. Dion was Greek, If I remember.” Ira grinned a little playfully at this, “Yeah. He used to talk about chickens defusing dogs or something. Turned it into a whole thing where he sits in a water barrel and yells at people about how mankind is just like dogs. Everyone was always mad at him for this.” He continued nonsensically. But then he tilted his head a bit, “But maybe he was right. Maybe life is just like being in a pack of dogs.”

Ira listened to Zakir, thinking that was quite nice, by what he was hearing. He had never had such close bonds to his father, never knowing him. Or to his step-father. His mother seemed to be enamored by Augustu, though, and that perhaps did damage his relationship with her, “Yeah, right on that. Some books are probably hard to read, but the right readers come along eventually. You might say!” He chimed in.

As the other went on, he frowned a little at their attempt to say they were interesting, “Of course you are. Everyone's interesting.” Though perhaps he was looking at this too much from an artist's perspective. Ira grinned, fox-like then, adjusting his body, “If you watch them long enough. Though, take that from an artist, yeah? Guess I see interest in every blade of grass.” Tossing his head a little as he considered, “Usually I'm freelance, but I sometimes get select hires and often set up shop in the park to sell some overload.”

[mireyahq]

move on - that was the very best the journalist could do after the gastly events she'd experienced. mireya reyes was only looking for a story and never in her wildest dreams did she predict she'd be shot at, carried onto a stage by what could only be described as skeletal beings for a reanactment before the actual atrocities came into play. the woman had just been unfortunate collateral damage that faded away into the background. a bullet had grazed her - things could have been a lot worse.

her positive attitude could only do so much. the events of that day had greatly troubled her - revealed the worst about others and how far they'd go for their own selfish means - but she had to keep going. bills weren't going to pay for themselves and sitting at home feeling sorry for herself was also a waste of her time. mireya got her positive attitude from her father and when it faltered, she'd always think back to him as she desperately wanted to make him proud. that had already been achieved with her father being mireya's biggest supporter but she never wanted to come close to letting him down.

there was a flinch from the woman as someone grabbed her arm, evidently still reeling from her recent experiences. the anxiousness eased as the other apologised and began to talk. them knowing her face and what she did wasn't something she was expecting, her brow giving that information away as it sunk into a frown. "yeah." nodding, the frown persisted on her features. "yeah?" peering towards the sketchbook. "are you one of the artists?"

[mccnbright]

Ira watched the woman for some time before realizing it might have been uncomfortable. He turned his head a bit, his attention moving elsewhere for the time being while he waited for Mireya, then grinned as she had spoken, taking note of the flinch however, it quickly turned into a frown. He wondered briefly what had caused her to be so jumpy, though one could never tell what practical strangers were capable of in these days. Though she seemed to ease when his apology had come, it didn't kill the curiosity her clear anxiety had been.

As she spoke, it didn't help the matter any, as she seemed to still be anxious, “Cool, cool. Yeah. Sometimes, not really on official, but for hire here and there.” He liked being for hire, it got him into places. The news, the police station, political meetings, and the court. Artists weren't exactly the most abundant in many areas. He nodded, continuing, “I am, you have never seen my stuff before?” He questions, not expecting everyone to have seen it. But with his small-town fame for it, on top of his connection to the Vitelli, he could say it was hard not to know about him.

“You alright?” Ira then asked, gesturing vaguely toward her, “You see…I don't know…frowny. I would like to think it's not from me and our little bumping into?” He laughed lightly, sure that it couldn't have been that he was that detested, she didn't seem to know him, not even a bit. Though he was concerned, because she was behaving quite anxiously, and he could imagine, outside of him, something more sinister, perhaps she was being followed, even. Though that seemed an extreme to jump to, so he would let her explain, or not.

[b4rredteeth]

Bo chuckled at the joke. It might sound good on radio, so they wondered if they could get Ira to repeat it. They opened their notebook and wrote down a few things. Just to refresh their memory later. They never gave long interviews on air, just ten minutes tops, to just to keep people engaged, then a few fun conversations about things that had nothing to do with backstory.

"That's horrible," Bo said. They weren't sure if they would've. They'd had older siblings, they'd been bullied, but never for long. Because their older siblings had always stood up for them. Until they were gone, that was. And that was about all of a childhood they had.

"How did you get your big break?" they asked. "Did someone discover you or did you send your art everywhere?"

[mccnbright]

Grinning at the other's chuckle, Ira felt proud of the silly little comment. Then he gave a shrug when the other commented on it being horrible, how he had grown up. At least, as far as schooling was concerned. Of course, he wouldn't really talk about his family life. Certainly not the gang side of it, where Augustu and his older siblings were concerned. Not that anyone didn't know, or wasn't curious. He was part of a family notorious in the region. Of course, people would be curious about his life in that family.

“Ah. Well, not always. But, you know, that part of it wasn't fun while it lasted.” Ira commented to the other, giving a shrug. Bullying ended up in his having a clipped ear, but it was better than what happened to him years prior, by far.

With Bonifer's next question, he sucked his teeth a bit, lifting his shoulders, “Offered for a bit, some sketches for criminals. It was alright. But what really broke me into the career I have now was doing a satire comic on the mayor about three years back or so.” He laughed, “The mayor wasn't a big fan of it.”

[thecther]

@/ blockbuster with ira

how far had her infatuation gone with the dead girl? had it just been a past time? perhaps her love for literature and movies hadn't help... elise james was one that was proclaimed genius and had quickly got bored of university life and wanted something more. there was nothing wrong with her family but perhaps things were wrong with her. of course, the young woman didn't see it this way because she was intelligent, though one of the family members actually seeing the thruth that she wasn't one of them was a slight hinderance to her plan. elise was dangerous because she did not have an end goal - she had been bored, become obsessed with the family that surrounded a dead girl and had seemingly inserted herself, dyed her hair and fully moved here after tricking people she knew that it was only a 'vacation'. elise never went back to school but now blockbuster was equally as grating. still, she had a job to do. "see you here a lot." it was a statement, not a customer greeting. "so you appreciate the movies, i assume?"

[mccnbright]

Another day, another time to sit and just enjoy some good entertainment. Did he have shelves and shelves full of physical copies of the movies? Here, yes. But that was the point of his visits. One of them was Kenny. Kenny worked here. So he liked to keep her company from time to time. Especially later shifts that went into the evening. Particularly with all the weird shit happening lately. Though at the moment Kenny was not working, he was just out and about and dropped in to see what was available. It wasn't like he was hurting one, hanging out at the Blockbuster, just because it often helped with the artistic flow, or meeting others.

Looking over the current line of movies in front of him, Ira shifted in his stance, thinking about what movie would be good to watch tonight. He would be alone, so the world would be his oyster, he could watch anything! Reaching out and grabbing Neon Genesis Evangelion. Though, he looked over when someone spoke to him. Holding the anime to one side, he grinned, “Do you?” He supposed he would start to develop some kind of connection to the place, with how often he was here, “Yeah. It's an art, so you know.” He tossed his head a bit from side to side, “What about you?”

[kaedekari]

from the garden of words by makoto shinkai ♡