talk fast, romance

michael zane. 22. capricorn. bartender. family disappointment.

[michaelczane]

ryvnocal​:

“you’d like our salted caramel i think then. it’s a vanilla bean base with some sea salt and caramel hunks in it, it’s actually kinda good. or the mocha flavored. it’s kind of a hit when the fall comes around more though.” they said and shrugged some. but this guy had already gotten what ryan had suggested and he wasn’t the biggest fan but he was tolerating it and that was better than ryan having to waste the ice cream itself. upon being asked the question, ryan laughed and said. “well, maybe a tad bit bitchy.” they said, smashing their forefinger and thumb together as if to show him just how bitchy he was being. “next you’re gonna tell me santa isn’t real. why’ve you gotta ruin nice things, huh?” ryan asked before he started laughing some. “it’s a good thing. though you’d definitely make a good sea witch if that was your scene and all.” they said before taking michael’s cup and scooping a bit of vanilla in it. “anything else, your highness?” they asked as they slid it over towards him.

“i might try that next time,” he said. now that actually sounded good. not that he could blame ryan for having different taste, but still. this would’ve been a better choice. michael wouldn’t be the type of person to waste food, and to have to put a server through the trouble—specially because this had been his choice. so of course he would just eat it and not bother them about it. he chuckled softly when ryan called him bitchy. “bitchy, huh?” he couldn’t deny it. he’d had an attitude with them for no reason other than he thought they were too friendly. “hate to break it for you doll, but yeah. also the tooth fairy, no such thing. no easter bunny. then again what is real? are we even real?” he rambled on. “i’d be a hot merman. but no one’s lucky enough to get me like that,” he joked. what even is a sea witch? michael didn’t want anything else but the scoop of vanilla. however, when ryan asked him in that tone, well, he just had to keep up the bitchy act. he pursed his lips and brought his finger up to them in thought. “hmmmmm...” he looked around. “have you got any sprinkles? the colorful kind.”

[michaelczane]

ryvnocal·:

“what do you like then?” ryan asked back. ryan themselves when it came to sweets liked a little bit of everything. they even liked the sweet and salty or sweet and savory vibe that they sometimes brought into the shop – it was some of their favorite combinations. as the other hummed about the ice cream, ryan took that as he liked it and since he didn’t spit it out and give teh bowl back, they had to say they were quite impressed. “ah, so he can be nice.” ryan mused with a little chuckle to follow afterwards. “you’re right, i’d hate every second. i’m more of a nauti merman kinda person. lots of action and lots of mermaids. can’t get any better than that. you’d definitely hate it.”

“i like richer flavors. less sweet. or like, even salty,” he replied. did it even matter? he’d already gotten the peaches and cream. michael smirked when the man teased that he was nice. was he? or was he just flirting? because there was a difference, if you asked him. “was i not being nice before?” he baited, smirk still present. “the nauti merman? i’ve never understood the appeal of grown ass people in costumes. you do know they’re not real, right? not to break the illusion,” he teased. but yeah, when they said that michael would hate it, that was an absolute read. it was not his scene, not his vibe, and the whole concept was so annoying. “i definitely would. which is why i bartend at anemoia. not the merman.” and thank god for that. what was left of his soul would certainly die if someone made him put on a goddamned mermaid tail. “can i get a scoop on vanilla on this?”

[michaelczane]

marina-villareal​:

Marina was absolutely relieved that the guy hadn’t gotten upset over her running into him like that, and seeing that he had a silver mermaid on his keychain was a nice surprise. When he seemed okay, and friendly even, she relaxed and nodded again. She smiled broadly and tucked a few strands of her long brown hair behind her ear. “Ah! She’s beautiful, too. I have to admit, I don’t meet a lot of people who carry a mermaid on them, so that’s honestly a nice surprise,” she mused. “I have this,” she said. She slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out a set of keys. The keychain looked like an small version of an old vintage hotel key tag that said “Mermaid Motel” on it, and a room number underneath (#10). “It’s from the gift shop next to the Nauti Merman. It’s one of the first things I bought when I got my first paycheck there,” she said. “At the Merman, that is. I sing there, and this is one of my favorite songs to cover. Not that you asked!” She pressed her lips together and laughed quietly, slipping her keys back into her pocket. “Anwyay, I don’t wanna keep you from anything. It’s such a nice day out, don’t you think?”

michael chuckled. it was an odd coincidence, really. he wasn’t the mermaid type, specially not to the extent that she clearly was. “it’s pretty random, yeah. what are the chances?” while she was still holding her keys, michael reached over to look at her keychain. hers was definitely cooler, maybe he should get one like that, if only to stick with the mermaid theme he had going on currently. “the nauti merman,” he repeated, then snorted. “never ceases to amuse me how everything’s got a quirky name ‘round here. you would think they’d start runnin’ out of ideas,” he mused. “i didn’t—but, there’s never a bad time for a lana moment,” he smiled. he liked the song, too. “you’re definitely not keeping me,” he replied. other than doing his laundry (long overdue, by the way), and punching a hole in the wall somewhere later, his schedule was wide open. and he certainly appreciated the distraction, it was so much better to be discussing mythical creatures with a beautiful lady, than be sat at home thinking about a new disappointment on the list. he hadn’t even noticed it was a nice day out until she brought it up. “huh. yeah, guess it is. what’s the plan for you? more mermaid hunting?”

[michaelczane]

ryvnocal​:

ryan narrowed his eyes a little before rolling them at the other’s comment. “well, i’m sorry you’ve no taste. maybe you should have asked what the top choices are instead.” they suggested and shrugged some. ryan was a decent person he thought, he liked to talk, liked to make people feel like they were wanted in the shop – and it wasn’t just for tips though they played a big part. but he remembered feeling like he didn’t belong in this shop or in this town before and  he didn’t want someone else to feel like shit. you never knew what people were going through anyway. when the other finally gave his order, ryan quietly made his way over to the display freezer and scooped out one scoop like he asked. he put it in a bowl, then grabbed a spoon and stuck it on the side. his question got a small laugh out of them and they shrugged their shoulders. “believe it or not some people kinda appreciate a little smile and a good conversation. where do you work? wouldn’t wanna come mess up your broody vibe or nothin’.”

“i just don’t like fruit,” he replied simply. it wasn’t that big of a deal, he didn’t really care that this ryan person (judging by the name tag), didn’t like the same ice cream flavors as he, a man of taste, did. he took the ice cream from them and took some with the little spoon, humming softly. he did like this, so no complaints on that front. he chuckled softly when they said some people actually appreciated the happy attitude. “i wasn’t complainin’. was just asking,” michael replied. “with a smile like that, be a damn shame if you kept it hidden,” he added. a crooked little smile appeared on michael’s face when ryan called him broody. “anemoia. whole vibe’s broody, i fit right in. you’d hate it.”

[michaelczane]

copperxgalileo​:

Copper hadn’t been a barista for very long, and truth be told he was still learning the ropes.  He’d only done it for a bit during college, and not well.  And he didn’t even know why he wanted the job so much.  After all, Copper was previously an associate professor at an Ivy League college and had recently completed his Doctorate.  But he didn’t want anything to do with his old life, wanting to live quietly, to block out everything that in the end had brought him misery.  He had failed in basically every aspect of his life, and he wanted something simple.  At least here he was surrounded by books and coffee, two things he loved.  And Copper was determined not to fail at this, though he’d gotten to a rocky start.  Luckily the manager who’d hired him had been taken in by Copper’s soulful eyes (or so he’d heard the man telling another employee) and was being very patient with him.  After making the last drink of his shift, he handed it to the waiting patron, suddenly filled with dread when he remembered what the person had actually ordered, which was different than what he had made.  “This isn’t what you ordered, is it?” Copper asked sheepishly, sighing.

michael understood. he was a bartender, after all, he knew how annoying people can be—specially drunk ones—so when he stopped by for a coffee almost at closing time, he couldn’t really blame the barista for being fucking done with it all. he handed him his drink, and it was very obviously not what the young man had ordered. “no, i asked for an iced coffee,” he said, as nicely as he could manage, because he really did feel bad. he didn’t often feel compelled to be sympathetic, but this guy looked so defeated he was debating just taking the cappuccino and going on his way, but he knew he hated cappuccino and would be angry for three days straight for having wasted the money on it. “long day, huh? i feel you,” he said, trying to make conversation to lighten the mood, even though when customers did it to michael, he fucking hated it. “at least you’re on your way out. i’m barely gonna be starting my shift in a few.”

[michaelczane]

ryvnocal​:

the guy seemed like he was in a daze as he entered the building and the out of it tone that he had made ryan laugh a little bit.”my favorite?” they asked, humming a little bit in thought. “well at the moment i’ve a favorite, but it’s a combo of flavors. like two.” they rambled on. “so i usually get like a mango and pineapple, a scoop of each, then kinda just eat it together. it’s magical and quite possibly the best mixed flavors one could have. just saying.” they then added and shrugged. “but that’s my favorite if you’d like to try it. if not i’d go with like, the strawberry one. it’s light and has real strawberries in it. or the peaches and cream.”

“uh, those all sound shit. no offense,” he said. sometimes he spoke before he thought, almost like his brain and his mouth weren’t connected. and hey, maybe they weren’t. he just didn’t like fruity flavors, and all of their suggestions were fruity, which was annoying enough as it was without adding all the odd smiling and giggling coming from behind the counter. “i’ll go with the peaches and cream thing one, please.” he said, offering a somewhat apologetic smile for having been bitchy, specially because he knows what it’s like to have to work a job like this, dealing with people. “you always this cheery?” he asked, blatantly checking them out as they  scooped his ice cream. “i’m never this cheery when i’m behind the counter.” or ever, really.

[michaelczane]

marina-villareal​:

Marina was rarely ever home. When she wasn’t singing at the Nauti Merman, she was wandering through town, looking for anything new she hadn’t already seen or experienced in P-Town before. Whether it was a new breakfast nook, or a secretive little tourist trap shop, she was in love with it all. She raised her phone up to take a photo of a painted sheet-metal mermaid hanging over one of the shops, but when she brought it down, she accidentally turned too quickly, smacking someone’s arm with her own. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry! Are you okay? I got distracted by the mermaid,” she said sheepishly, smiling and sparing a quick glance at the blonde haired, blue-tailed beauty reaching for something unseen. “I collect them, sort of. I have to keep myself from buying too many knick knacks, or else my apartment gets more cluttered than I can handle.” Not that anyone had asked, but she could certainly be a chatty, open book sometimes.

@p-town-starters​

michael was a man on a mission, but he didn’t really have much of a plan when he moved to provincetown in search for answers. his “method” for finding his biological father so far, was just borderline stalking men who fit a general description and some details in order to rule them out or consider them a possible match. he didn’t have much to go on, really, and the investigation had stalled. he was just on his way home from another disappointment, after the guy who was helping him ruled someone else out, which meant michael was completely distracted as he walked down the street and bumped into someone. he turned to look at her, then the mermaid, and he smiled and chuckled softly. it was just cute, really, the way she explained what had distracted her. “can’t blame you, really. she’s a gorgeous lady.” michael zane wasn’t the friendliest guy, but some people just brought it out of him, rare as it was. this was one of those once in a blue moon occasions. “mm. i got one! on my keys,” he said, pulling them out of his jeans’ pocket to show her his keychain, a silver mermaid with long, flowy hair, much like the one that had distracted her before they bumped into each other. it had come from his landlord, and he never really got around to changing the keychain, so it stuck. “anyway, don’t sweat it. you didn’t hurt me or anything.” it was almost a miracle that someone had managed to distract him from how awful he was feeling. even michael had forgotten it for a moment.

[michaelczane]

ryvnocal​:

ryan had been at the ice cream shop since early that morning – he’d been called in for the morning shift and had to help get things set up for the day. these were the days he dreaded because he had to be up so early. nonetheless though, he did like his job. how could you hate being around ice cream all day? not to mention he got little sample cups of all the flavors whenever he could – a win in his book. today the man was in a cheeky little mood, ready to joke around and have a conversation with anyone that would allow him to open his dumb mouth to speak. he’s always been a social butterfly of the sorts, and people were his thing. learning people was his thing. it always had amazed ryan how everyone came from different walks of life, and he adored hearing their stories and journeys. he heard the little bell on the door ring, indicating that they had a customer and in true ryan form he had to joke as he said, “hey! welcome to i scream, where unlike mcdonald’s our ice cream machine is always running.” he added in a dumb dimple filled smile. “how can i help ya? would you like to try our new banana rum flavor? it’s actually not as vile as it sounds.”

provincetown was alright. michael’s stay in this place had certainly lasted a lot longer than he expected—what was supposed to be a few weeks, had now turned into a couple of months, and he’d grown used to how things were around here. bright, colorful, quirky, all words he would consider to be the opposite of his personality. he was dreading his shift at anemoia later, so he was stalling. he stopped at the ice cream shop, as a snack was always a good distraction. “yea. hey.” wasn’t this guy peppy? you could never pay michael enough to smile like that on a shift. or, like, ever. “that really does sound gross,” he raised a brow at that suggestion. “what’s your favorite flavor? i’ll try that.”