Nicholas Park

Park Nam-Ki. 29. Human. Writer. Librarian/Archivist.

[nicholasxpark-blog]

Past and Present || Nick, Ben

       There’s always those moments, those small little lapses where you forget something important. The stove, the lights, maybe even something essential to your workday or class. Nick however was blissfully unaware he’d left one of his bound journals in the cafe he frequented before work. After all, it was one of several books he carried around and so it didn’t concern him till he was all the way to the library. 

       Silver Prius rolling up to the doors, early as per usual, he patted his satchel and something, of course, felt off. His oldest journal would often be in place in the outside pocket, one from years ago it was perhaps the earliest one he’d written. Today it was not in it’s place and briefly he remembered pulling it out to read one of the entries in a fit of nostalgia. It’d served for a good combination with coffee and breakfast, but panic did not explain the feeling in his gut now. It took a moment for him to gather himself, for him to not feel like his heart was being punched through a straw. Immediately, Nick backed out of his parking space. He could open five minutes late if it meant that he found his book.

       The text however was fine and content where it was as Nicholas raced to it. The sunny day graced it’s text, Nicholas’ sprawling handwriting displayed to the world. It was proud of itself, the words. Most of them were made in a certain sort of confidence Nicholas didn’t have these days, the nostalgic and lovelorn youth he’d been... not completely gone, but subdued in a sense, in most senses. He didn’t write a much for himself anymore, didn’t have anyone to write about in some ways up until recent events and his move to Sumner. Laying bare for the world, it’s pages flicked lightly in the wind until it opened to a page Nicholas often frequented.

April 10th, 2012

      Softness is, an arm wrapped around her waist, her hair tickling my nose. Softness, or this newfound weakness in a more literal sense, is also not knowing what is going on in the world around myself, not caring. Sleep barely comes readily now as I stare at the back of her black hair. I’d dreamed this before, I’m sure of it, but now it is too real with her actually here. All too soon it’s gone.

      Elaine. She had that thing about her where you can sense she was out. She would only un-tense when she was asleep... only then and a few other times when we’re alone. Both of us do it actually. I smile to myself remembering this small detail about her, being able to see the similarities between her now and then. Both of us are nervous people, and somehow it all just works. Had worked... Still, despite it being real there is that questioning again. How? How is it ending? I pushed it down, that voice of reason that kept niggling at the back of my brain. This back and forth keeps me from falling asleep. My head was just filled with nothing but warm thoughts in a sleepy haze then. I’d focus on my breathing, trying not to move from my position holding her while it lasted. Nothing helped.

      Dreams are too short lived it seems and I’m waxing poetic again just thinking about waiting for a response from her. Will she leave him? I doubt it for some reason and I wait anyways. I’ve waited for days as is. Sometimes in class and in the halls she passes me but it’s back to the looks she gave me when we first met... there’s distance there. Ainsley, he tells me to focus on our studies instead and I’m trying my best. I had to fight with him multiple times over it, over my ‘situation’ and he says keeping it a secret really only will hurt me long term. He’s right, but really, nothing is helping.

@ben-ferreira

[ramona-gaffin-blog]

nicholasxpark

Ramona stole the pen he’d set down and opened up a flyer shed taken off a wall from her pocket. Drawing on the blank side, she drew a sound wave, and then a person beside it. “Sound waves are sort of little textures that are different for everyone. The colors are different and everything. Yours are sort of like wiggly noodles that are pale blue. Your heart beat sound waves are different though.”

[nicholasxpark-blog]

Nick simply watched her take his pen, and shook his head, unsure what to think about her. Despite the weirdness of the situation, it seemed she was legitimately interested in explaining. “So... you see them?” He had surmised as much from her phrasing and the drawing. “And you can hear heartbeats? Huh, that’s... something.” For a moment he thought about it, how a heartbeat’s sound would look like and briefly his mind faltered back to the heart he’d gotten in the mail, what had started this all. Amidst the craziness of living here he’d almost forgotten and his smile faltered for a moment Before he perked up again. “Has it always been like this for you? Seeing them...?”

[isis-the-divine-deactivated2016]

blue for beauty||open

Isis lived for little nights like this, when the cool ocean breeze mixed with the warm summer air and wind drifted eerily, yet peacefully through the town. It was nights like this, underneath a clear sky that Isis just loved, that she appreciated with all her being. She believed that even if she wasn’t a wolf, if she had remained human, she would still feel passionate about these lovely summer nights. Summer nights where she’d sit out on her porch in peace and read a book, write in her diary or just look up at the planets and stars splattered on the midnight canvas. But some nights, night like tonight, were too good to pass up, they were too perfect. Nights like this she wanted to experience something almost similar a sensory high, or as close as one could get. 

She had a small, drawstring bag her mother made for her, which was always perfect for Isis, she could put a little cotton dress in there, some underwear and she was set, she walked around barefoot enough to have developed a healthy callus on her feet, or so she believed. It was small enough to where on her shoulder human, but as a wolf, she wore it around her neck, since she hated the feeling of it dragging and tumbling behind her, hitting her ankles when she ran. She shoved a little bathing suit and a dress in there, before locking her door and storing the key in the bag. Isis had turned off all the lights on her porch, just on the off chance someone saw her naked on her steps, they wouldn’t question her, or even speak to her, she’d be in the dark and they’d pay her house little mind. Once the bag was around her neck, she pulled in her lower lip and shifted, eyes narrowed as she did. The rebel wolf still felt pain as she shifted, ever since Ned had stolen their power, left her without wolf long enough that her body had almost forgotten it’s cursed gift. This one, however was still a bit smoother than the first one after the mana pools had been reactivated, her main sources of suffering her hips, pelvic bone, neck, and even something so small as her cheekbones, but they were momentary. 

She had shifted in less the 8 seconds, she had been trying to get it down a second since before she moved, but progress (understandably so) had been halted, and once her front paws met the ground she was off, making her way to the beach that she was sure was clear and empty of all persons. She took her time, taking back corners and darkened paths toward the beach, letting the cool air ripple through her fur and caress her face in the silent way she could never really explain. The wolf made it to the beach in one piece, shaking her bag off her neck and laying down, just for a moment, to enjoy things as they were. 

[nicholasxpark-blog]

       It was late and getting to that point where it was just dark enough to obscure the horizon, the sun had long since been gone. Nick was staring out at the sea, hand to his face and trying to control his breathing at the moment. It was a small allowance of time, emotions even to himself, or so he thought. He’d arrived late for the express purpose of watching the sun set during one of these cool beginning of summer days, but something had overtaken him... memories mostly, the fact he was doing this alone. It was bad this time, the thoughts. Mostly, a small swath of black hair and a tiny face that looked like both him and her invaded his memory. Similarly, the way he had arranged the house... the major and small differences of living with someone else, no... two people and seeing what you kept from your old life and what you changed. He was caught up in all that. Trying to cling to the fading memory and cursing himself. The moment, the vibrancy of the feelings were fading however, and so was the sadness to some degree. It’d had slowly faded into more of a throbbing pain, something barely manageable. With this, Nick sat spaced out in a patch of sand, a blanket pulled around his legs, a beige wool thing he always kept in the trunk of his car. Despite it getting more chill and the tide coming in, he barely moved. Scanning the horizon the moon was bright and heavy in the sky. Biting at his finger lightly he let his hand fall to the side, off into the sand and leaned back.

       He should get up and he knew it. He’d been chill for a long while now, the wind on the shore cold and salty. Moving, his eyes shifted downwards, looked around. He could still see the spaces where people had been sitting during the day. Remembered the families and every minuscule detail about who’d sat where. It would all be gone when the tide came in fully and moving finally, he sighed at the thought as he kicked the blanket off of himself. Picking it up along with his water bottle, he shook them both free of sand. Beside himself with the task he barely noticed the black dot further down the beach until done. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye something small in the distance caught his attention. He stood still, staring. It was a dog he thought, from what it looked like far off. Nicholas looked around the shoreline, all the way down to the rocky outcroppings that signaled the end of the beach. He wondered about approaching, about doing anything in his tired state and honestly he felt it’d be more trouble than it was worth but out of habit or curiosity moved nearer. Slinging the fabric over his shoulder he padded through the sand until he noticed something off, the size of the creature and the glint of it’s eyes in the moonlight not reading anything near dog-like. He stopped where he was.

[ramona-gaffin-blog]

Ramona didn’t give a rats ass when she was caught staring at others. In fact, if someone was staring at you, they found something interesting to look hard at... That is at least how she felt about it. When caught by the person she’d been peering so intently at, Ramona smiled and ruffled her long hair. “Wow.. your sound waves are crazy. Like, I can see the waves when you make sound, kinda like auras and yours are super pretty.”

[nicholasxpark-blog]

       Pen behind an ear, Nicholas simply squinted at the person across from him, head cocked to the side and unknowing what to make of the situation. He had no idea what the woman next to him was talking about. Sure, he had been speaking to himself and she was allowed to comment on that, but he had absolutely no clue what she meant by “sound waves” and, was that a compliment? ...Should he say thank you? Taking his pen from behind his ear he tapped it along the grated iron table he was sitting at before setting it down on top of the paper he’d been writing. He’d only just half an hour ago started his daily stroll in the more active parts of Melankolli to end up in one of the outdoor cafes, being eyed by a stranger. Nodding, he eked out, “Um... thank you I guess.” A pause. “Sound waves, huh? What do they look like...?” He gave her a confused nod, considering what she’d said entirely and everything else strange in the town. 

[nicholasxpark-blog]

Nostalgia || Self-Para

A photograph of the Parks, as dreamed by Nicholas. He has no actual photos of his family or himself as a child to date.

       ‘Seoul is always moving forward’ is what my ‘father’ used to say. I remember his lectures like they were yesterday. He barely touched me when he would sit me down in a seat opposite from him. The times he had to be around me for extended periods were spent gingerly at best. I remember the days when my feet wouldn’t touch the floor. I remember my neatly buckled shoes and white socks. My school outfit. My private tutors. After my first few years of life I probably spent more time with these things than with than my own family.

       He didn’t visit me in the birthing room from what I remember, didn’t go to see me for the first few months. Apparently, I wasn’t the only rift between him and my mother, but I didn’t help. Considering what she’d done and the time period he was being very considerate. Considering what he could have done and what was within his power, he was being gracious.

       Apgujeong-dong, the neighborhood where we lived was septic even back in the day. It was the late 80s and 90s and both Koreas’ were still in tension with each other. Roh Tae-woo was president and I remember the country trying to adjust to a more democratic process. I remember the ‘peace dam’ and the country going under monetarily after Kim Young-sam took office. I remember how big of a blow that was to everyone, how there used to be no national pension system and the families reuniting from the North. I remember things well despite what everyone thought about me at the time and how they treated me like a pet. It might have been better if I didn’t remember in the long run. It might have been better.

       As expected, the residential neighborhoods were cut off from the rest of society. For the first few years we lived in separate houses. My mother was of a time long past and the world was changing around her. She looked at everything with bright eyes, the lights that came to the city, the shopping districts. Everything was inspiring to her and she spoke to me often when alone. The first few years all I remember is her. Her fluffed up hair, her denim and leather jackets that contrasted with my father’s suits. She’d demand to blast a mix of Kim Wan Sun on the chauffeurs’ and home radio along with her classical tapes when he was gone. With my father she changed. She became someone else to me but was very much the same person now that I think about it. Everything he said came first. It simply was the time she was from. That was it.

       My life was quiet, and I remember a brief moment with my mother catching fireflies in the afternoon. It wasn’t late but she’d made another pot of tea for herself, wiped down the kitchen even though we had housemaids to do it. She’d done it even though she could do better than that and had something extra to aid her. Sometimes, I walked into rooms and things seemingly reset themselves when not looking. Today... it was one of those days where the feeling had passed me more than once that there was a disturbance in the house, that something was going to happen. Sitting out in the neatly trimmed yard, she’d watch me from the porch, always moving restlessly. I was dressed up in the smaller version of adult’s clothing, a miniature suit. I’d grown used to this clothing by then already, would run and play in this attire despite her pleas. Eventually she stopped caring.  

       Coming up to me my mother would lean in and lift me up seemingly effortlessly. She’d kiss me though I didn’t laugh much as a child. Still, I was happy and I’m sure she could tell. If I smiled she’d continue, repeat the words we’d practiced when he wasn’t around. “You remember your auntie’s, no?” Mostly she was referring to her mentors, the other witches on the edges of Apgujeong she frequented for lessons, the ones she took me to to have them fawn over me, see what I was. She’d often repeat, asking me though not really expecting a response besides a nod at this point. “You remember your aunties... right?” Running a finger over my collar to straighten it out, she’d turn and heft me up higher on her hip. I was probably too big to be carried but she did it anyway. I’d simply nod, or at least I guess my silence might’ve been enough. I don’t remember everything specifically. “Good.”  Her eyes were far off. I couldn’t read them that well back then. Back then I didn’t know what she was trying to tell me, but I guess she thought I’d have some place to go to if I wasn’t allowed in the house. I always wondered what she was thinking during these moments.

[nicholasxpark-blog]

What was your character like in high school? Did they hang with a certain clique? At that age, would they have been disappointed in who your character has grown up to be?

Nicholas, Age 16 - Photos taken by roommate, Avery, at the time.

       Nicholas was not part of any clique, but he was a member of several clubs, honors societies, and volunteering groups throughout high school. Despite wanting to fade into the background, it’s hard to when you’re one of the only asian kids in your private boarding school and simultaneously sprout up to be near six feet tall in your sophomore year. Having to move to Phillips Academy in Massachusetts for high school on his father’s demand meant that he kept no close friends in the states until his freshman or sophomore year. So far Nick’s only outstanding hobbies at the time were reading and music. He used to play violin avidly and actually participate in band and chorus during middle school, but dropped the hobbies eventually despite getting many awards for it and it being one of the reasons he was accepted to Phillips in the first place.

       Despite being dubbed “the quiet kid” Nicholas had two close friends, Avery and James, and could be labeled a nerd in his own right for associating with them. James was lead for stage crew’s sound department, and the president of the Asian Cultural Appreciation Club which consisted of several people, most of whom were white aside from Nicholas and himself. Avery was Nicholas’ roomie and a comic book nerd through and through. He was actually the one who got Nicholas into action, pulp, and thriller novels. He was also part of the school’s yearbook club and in the art program for photography.

       Nicholas didn’t keep in contact with them despite promises and that would be his biggest disappointment. Even spending afternoons talking about novels they’d read and shared goals, Nicholas drifted away from them senior year when he knew it was just time to move away from his friends once again. Having to push himself through to college didn’t help, and while his friends were going away to schools like Yale and likewise, Nick barely pushed himself to apply to Boston University. To this day, he regrets not reaching out to them after going off to college. Both James and Avery have attempted to contact him in the years past, but Nicholas has either missed their messages or has not responded.

[sagira-mbizi-blog]

A Swim || Open

[sagira-mbizi-blog]

The man who stepped through the underbrush was harried, surely. Or, at the very least he looked it. Cocking her head as he stepped out, she wondered if had been a bad idea to stay in her snake form. At the way he reacted, she was beginning to think the answer was yes. Honestly she just hadn’t expected to be interrupted while she was swimming. The whole point of leaving the dorms had been to be alone, after all. Perhaps it was just foolishness on her part, or some indignant agitation; why should she have to put her scales away when she had been here first? When she had come here to wear them.

But the way he looked… he was soaking wet in his own right, as if he had just been in this very pond. And there was something in his eyes that spoke of turmoil. Instantly, Sagira was on alert. There was nothing more dangerous than a person ho had gone mad or was at least temporarily mad. If she frightened him, suppose he was violent. She could defend herself; there was no disputing it. But if that happened, suppose it led to even more people getting hurt, like it had in Memphis? Her fangs were heavy against her teeth, almost foreboding.

Sliding back into the water more fully, Sagira moved out deeper into the water as she watched the other man. “Are you all right?” she asked him, eyes still darting. She had left her clothes on the bank, but it wouldn’t bother her if she had to make a run for it to get away. Of course, it would bother her when she had to run through town naked, but… she’d figure that out if she had to. Cross that bridge when it came.

[nicholasxpark-blog]

       Nicholas’ first reaction was simply to stare. In the moment, he was still trying to process it, but eventually he connected two and two mentally. At this point, it was enough for basic brain function to return as he supposed that what was in front of him was another supernatural, something he hadn’t seen before. He was still so unused to seeing them in their changed forms be it whatever they were. This one, this woman, was something... snake-like? He wasn’t even focused on the woman’s partial nudity until she commented again on his state. Even so, he was so thoroughly distracted it barely effected him. He was so tired, heavy even and he was sure it showed. It didn’t help that he was still dripping a trail of mud and moisture that made the grass slick behind him from his mostly waterlogged leather shoes.

       Nick blinked for the fifth time at her and came to life again. How could he explain himself...? He looked around and down at his state and sighed audibly, eyes focused on nothing in particular then coming back up to level with the creature in front of him as she sank backwards from him slightly. Despite his initial alert he suddenly felt weary, just like his bones had been hallowed out by something suddenly. A semi-honest answer came out. “I-I don’t know... I’m just... very, very lost at the moment. I’m from the town if you’re wondering just,” he cut off and rubbed at the bridge of his nose at his eyes something welling up now that he’d run into someone. He didn’t consider himself one to get overwhelmed this easily, but Sumner pushed his buttons in more way than one often. His next words sounded more hesitant. “I just n-need some directions and I’ll be out of your hair. I’m sorry if I scared you.” Speaking was one thing, but Nick hadn’t noticed the state of his own face until he felt the water rolling from his eyes, one single tear making him realize as it fell from his nose. God, there it was again. He hadn’t cried as much as these recent months since he was small. The feeling of shame with it never ceased to stop it once it started. The feeling of shame doubled, tripled now... Hands up again he wiped his eyes, trying to stop it or hide it to some degree. Why did he have to do this now? Why here? For a moment everything was silent despite the forest around them and Nick took a deep breath in, trying to stop.

[nicholasxpark-blog]

[katerina-vaughn-blog]

Katerina wasn’t use to change;   she realized this as she gazed down at the fragile metal bracelet that hung daintily around her narrow wrist. It was one of the last things Malakai had given her—- a daylight charm. It was at least one step in the right direction to her own salvation, because now she had to show consistent control throughout the day.

She hated every bit of it.

However, her thoughts were shortlived, as a figuring sliding into the bar stool across from her pulled her attention. She inconspicuously slid her hand under the counter to hide the bracelet, keeping an almost blank expression on her face. As old as she was, she still had trouble interacting with people,

and this proved to be her first test.

The lesson of socializing.

[nicholasxpark-blog]

       Given that his apartment didn’t feel like home currently, getting out seemed like a plausible solution to his stress even though it was probably a bad idea in his currently restless state. He couldn’t focus on anything, and the library had gone on without him it seemed, was still where it was although probably more forgotten now that he hadn’t been there to open... He highly doubted anyone from the town cared during Ned, or the Master’s reign though. He highly doubted anyone cared really or had noticed his absence in all honestly.

       So, today he was in downtown Melankolli after closing up early. Melankolli, with it’s colorful shops and equally trendy crowds had a host of bars from divey to upscale. Nick had picked the one more of the latter that seemed the least busy in the moment, near empty even. It was an odd time to be drinking after all. Having chosen a clean place, nice in decor... none of it mattered in comparison to getting to mulling over a drink, a treat to himself. It didn’t take him long to scope out an empty seat in the corner and hop on the barstool with a colorful host of papers scattered in front of him. Even now he was trying to bury multiple thoughts in the only way he knew how. Work and meticulous scheduling. He’d gotten behind in several things and missed a deadline due to his choice to not leave the... nevermind, if he didn’t think about it, it wasn’t a problem, right? A buzzing in the back of his head told him otherwise, a slight pain behind his tired eyes.

       Shuffling the stack into a more presentable one and droning out the noise of the other patrons, Nick pulled a steno out to the top, the front page of it marked up with tons of notes and a draft of something he was to type up later. He barely noticed the woman next to him, even with her bright hair till he wondered briefly about a drink, possibly something to eat and looked around for someone, motioned to the bartender. Barely looking up he gave her just a brief smile that was probably just as awkward and forced as he felt it was. Immediately he regretted it and felt as though he shouldn’t end with just that and sighed, staring off behind the bar before turning back to her awkwardly trying to explain himself. “Rough week...” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head with one hand, that was before the bartender pulled up in front of them and he turned to them. “I’ll get a Manhattan, and a menu if you have one.”

[sagira-mbizi-blog]

A Swim || Open

Sagira didn’t like people. That was really just the crux of things. She could tolerate them, of course, and had to in a place as well-populated as Sumner Academy. But there was a point where she became over socialised and she wanted to murder literally everyone around her. It was times like those where she took off to find a more secluded area of water. It was harder to find fresh water, but she managed to find a little pond not too far into the woods. Now, as she shed her clothing–after making sure she was alone but for the stirrings of wildlife around her–she let herself slip into her snake form before letting out a soft sigh that ended in a hiss thanks to her newly forked tongue. The bands on her tail matched the black of her newly slitted pupils as her wild curls gave the illusion of the hood she could not grow. The cobra she shared her poison with was majestic in its danger; Sagira was simply tired. She was, perhaps, dangerous, but she didn’t want to dwell on that.

Slithering forward, she slipping into the rippling water, letting the cold of it slick her skin and flatten her hair as she cut the water with power strokes of her tail. It was good to exercise it, nice to swim where she wasn’t colliding with others in the underwater dorm. She was the most powerful thing in that pond, and that gave her an air of importance, however superficial and inauspicious it may be.

After a few minutes, she moved into the shallow water, letting her tail move along the muddy bottom before she lay on the bank half submerged. She lay still for a long moment before she heard a skittering to her right. Looking up, she caught sight of a rabbit watching her curiously. Suddenly, she was all too aware of the fangs in her mouth, dripping their venom onto her tongue. She lay perfectly still, waiting for the rabbit to move closer. She wasn’t sure how much time passed before it was close enough, and she wasn’t even entirely sure what possessed her to kill it. But when she bit into its spine, she imagined that she could hear a little scream from it. Her fingers ran gently through its fur as she watched its breathing turned laboured before it eventually faded off.

Sighing, she shook her head and sat up, her tail flicking idly as she almost felt guilty. She didn’t even want to eat it. There was just a part of her that had wanted to kill it. To dominate it. Now she petted it and shook her head. She hadn’t quite resigned herself to what to do with it before she heard twigs breaking and her head jerked up. “Who’s there?”

[nicholasxpark-blog]

The not so gracious rip back into reality was still weighing on him. Nicholas’ mind was elsewhere as he trudged along through the woods, ferns and the occasional bush slowing him down. He really was in the thick of it, hadn’t realized how far out he’d gone originally following the unicorn-horn clad man. For some reason he didn’t quite remember it being such a distance from any type of civilization as he wadded through some more underbrush. Suddenly, his concentration and focus on simply moving was caught by something else. A rustling noise from farther off to his left.

Eyes-bloodshot, and his whole being not yet ready to socialize after being dropped out of the mana pool, Nicholas all but stopped in place. The second he heard her voice ring out his heart halted. It... was a woman, correct? Out here in the woods? His mind echoed her words back to him. “Who’s there?” Something was off and not in the regular Sumner sense or a niggling feeling of something just being fishy. If he didn’t feel vulnerable and exposed before he definitely felt so now. He wasn’t ready to face anyone like this. He wasn’t presentable or emotionally ready to  do anything let alone explain himself. His front drenched, Nick’s pants, shoes, and sleeve were throughly soaked through and muddied. For a moment he stood there simply looking at his dripping clothing, bone still.

For some reason his mind told him to hide or stay where he was. He just wasn’t having any luck today it seemed and despite trying to focus he really couldn’t help but feel numb to the situation at hand, distant even. The memories of Elaine flushed back, the child... Nick’s chest felt like it would bottom out at the thought. She... didn’t even talk to him in this reality, in the real reality. Not paying attention he moved a half inch to his right, trying to peer through the bushes to get a look at who’d called out. It was all but a clumsy gesture since he really wasn’t all present. Even as he got a glimpse of a figure through the darkness of the dense forest he didn’t quite process it in the dark, wasn’t sure if she could see him as well. A sigh and he decided hiding would probably make the situation worse and only make whoever was there more likely scared. Putting his hands up he closed his eyes and broke through the line of bushes separating them, a good bit of distance still between them. “I... I-I’m,” was all he got out before he caught a full look. His voice was lost as he stared at the supernatural ahead of him.

[perl-less]

Perk Up || Perl & Open

[perl-less]

[TXT] R U KIDDING ME!?!?! WHAT’S WRONG??? EVERYTHING NICKY EVERYTHING IS WRONG  😭

[TXT] Yesss you should, ugh, do I need to start texting you pornographic paragraphs again?? 👉 👌 💦  Will that get you the attention from me that you crave? 😣

[TXT] I have a life Nick the Trick, and I thought you were busy with your own, playing baby momma, or daddy idk it’s a lil confusing with you. 😔  Of course you’d be feeling great, you’re human and getting laid on the regular good for you.

[TXT] Also ty v much for the ab pic it was hot and I maybe did kinda miss you. 😒  Your body is like surprisingly nice for a nerd.

[nicholasxpark-blog]

[Text]: Oh, wow... you can tell me what’s up or wrong in particular with you. I never did find out what you were after I fell asleep that night, only that you weren’t human like I thought. I know that most everyone is kind of reacting differently to the change thing...

[Text]: Ah! I haven’t contacted Jyrda yet! I wonder how she’s doing... I hope she isn’t freaking out. 😯💦

[Text]: Please don’t send me that. 😅  I mean I wouldn’t be as bothered by it now though since I know what to expect and all, but please don’t. Also, playing baby momma??? Um, I think it would just be baby daddy? And it’s not just about getting laid Perl.

[Text]: 😮 😊  Same. I missed you too. Maybe we should hang out again in the future, but on better terms... and perhaps not at a strip club.

[nicholasxpark-blog]

📲 Hey, Um || Nick, Jyrda

[jyrda-nysse-blog]

Once the car is out of her line of sight, some of the tightness in her chest alleviates. If only by a margin. Jyrda hates to make Nick’s life difficult. More difficult than she already has after how she’d made a social disgrace of herself outing their sexual encounter. It’s not fair to the man. But the siren can abide by the horror of automobiles. During her first few months in Sumner, she had been a bystander to a collision that resulted in one car bursting in to flame seconds before first responders arrived. The heat was palpable even from a distance and had prompted her research into vehicular accidents.

Horrifying.

Yet before she gets more than a few feet from the car, Nick appears in her path and forces Jyrda to a halt. The brunette squeezes her eyes shut, not wanting to deal with his considerate concern. She nearly collapses at the touch of his hands on her shoulders. The warmth of his touch and the compassionate worry in his voice for the siren to speak through her fear.

“I just–I am scared.” It sounds pathetic. A viking, a siren, should not fear many things, if any. Letting out a forceful rush of air as if her conscious act of breathing will lessen the turmoil raging in her veins, Jyrda opens her eyes to find Nick in the semi-darkness. “Cars–they’re dangerous. Prone to collisions and triggering flames from their interior mechanisms. I, sirens are immortal–but being burned to death will end them permanently.”

At the very least Nick deserves the entire truth of the matter. Without understanding exactly how, she trusts him not to abuse the knowledge she’s imparted. He’s such a sweet and kind mortal. Jyrda owes him honesty.

Without prompting, the siren closes the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his middle and resting her head against his chest. Jyrda feels an overwhelming need for physical contact. Grounding her to life and its continuation. She can hear Nick’s heart beat beneath her ear and it’s such a peaceful and satisfying sound to listen to.

“I’m sorry, Nick. I shouldn’t fear them but I do.”

[nicholasxpark-blog]

Just standing there Nick’s look grows concerned, the kind of concern you’d show a person you knew for a long time... the kind of deliberate and particular worry you’d save for someone close to you. Her eyes slowly find his despite the dim lighting around the campus front, and she looks so... fragile? Even despite the abnormal pace at which they’d taken things during their first meeting, Nick really feels worried for her. She seems so much more human and small in this moment than anytime else and he wants to reach out. Just before he can do that though... Jyrda herself closes the distance and all but hugs him.

Looking down at the top of the siren’s brown hair he flounders for a second with what to do then wraps his arms around her too, rest his chin on the top of her head gently. Part of him immediately finds it ridiculous the thing she’s scared of but he’s not going to say that... she’s legitimately frightened and he’s just confused. For the moment, he stands there and cradles her, thinks it over. Nicholas thinks how strange and weird that cars must be to her having lived so long. Who knew what she’d seen, or what she’d been told about them. Who knew what else she’d seen since coming to stay on land.

Nick just continues holding her, relaxes into it and sways her slightly. His voice is soft, trying to be as reassuring as he can manage as they stand there embracing on the grass. “Well... it’s... a bit funny to me since I’ve driven in a car to work every day for years, but I get it... I won’t lie and say they’re perfectly safe.” He puts his mouth on the top of her head briefly, not quite kissing her just so much as enjoying holding her like this before he draws back. Still holding onto Jyrda he leans back some so he can get a good look at her face, smiles at her. “We don’t have to drive if you don’t want, but I’d prefer if we did. I’d feel safer having you there alongside me.” 

Nick still holds her for a fraction of a second, but then loosens an arm to brush at her hair the way he did the first time they met. Honestly, it’s become a bit of a small obsession since then.  “... I don’t even have any gas in my car so I highly doubly there’d be a fire if anything happened. The likelihood of that is so small... I’m a pretty safe driver, no accidents let alone scrapes or bumps here.”

[perl-less]

Perk Up || Perl & Open

[TXT] I’m sad and everything’s awful 😰 😢 😭 and need cheering up 😟

[TXT] send me nudes plllzzzzz  😊

[nicholasxpark-blog]

[Text]: UM. 😐  Wait. I know who this is... What’s wrong now?

[Text]: Not quite what I was expecting to open my phone to, but judging based on the use of smilies and the crude comment alone. I don’t even have to look at the old msgs. I’m guessing this is Perl and that I really should save your number finally.

[Text]: Also, nudes? No, I don’t take anything like that, but I can cheer you up in a way not involving the loss of many clothing articles on my behalf.

[Text]: [Img Sent]

[Text]: Honestly, I thought you’d forgot about me since it’s been a such while since you heckled me I was beginning to miss this. I’ve been in such a good mood regardless the craziness around town... 😊 💕

[red-carrion-deactivated20160627]

What Manners? | open

[red-carrion-deactivated20160627]

[text]: it’d be cool if I was, wouldn’t it? What? Illegally? Me? Do I look like I could be here illegally?  be careful how you answer that, cuz. 

[text]: I was born here. Not here - here, in Sumner. California. I don’t have paperwork because family traditions and I never stayed in one spot long enough to establish an address or whatever. 

[text]: for real? you’d take a couple books out for me? sweet deal. do you want collateral or something?  I’ll make sure to keep them away from the little ones. [text]: Okay so, I’d like Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. Don’t judge, I started to listen to the audiobook when I was in Wyoming. Curious how the rest goes. And there’s a book about the history of surfing. 

[nicholasxpark-blog]

[Text]: No, um, ok... Sorry, it really wasn’t meant in that context. 😟💦

[Text]: Honestly, there just seems to be a lot of Sumner residents that don’t have any form of ID due to one reason or another. Immortality, traveling, changing identities, etc? Also, I guess I can’t imagine it being easy to get ID in town currently with what’s going on.

[Text]: (That’s if you even wanted to register yourself with town hall right now.) [Text]: Nah, don’t worry at all. Those are good choices for anyone, especially considering what some of the older women in town read it’s so refreshing to hear someone genuinely interested in King or other authors. I think the most recent novel I saw in someone’s hand was ‘Heart of the Sea’ by Nora Roberts. Definitely not my cup of tea with all the pining and waiting for a rich suitor. I can’t believe it’s a trilogy too. I couldn’t get past the first book even and the main character... don’t get me started.

[Text]: Um... if you totally ignore that pervious text then we have a deal. 😅  I’ll definitely take books out for you no collateral or anything. I guess I should mention dealing with books is kind of my job.

[ilejidemet-blog]

Lion in the Night | Nick and Seol

The string of texts the librarian had sent her had given the girl very clear instructions. Meet him outside the Library at 11:30pm wearing all black. Leave it to Nick to make it sound like the two were going on some secret mission while remaining as hopelessly vague as possible. So here she was wearing a black turtleneck under a leather jacket, her blackest denim and a pair of black stacked booties. She briefly wondered how dumb she looked as she approached the library with two coffees in hand.

She could only wonder what the man had planned for her as she approached the meeting spot. The empty meeting spot. She awkwardly glanced at her watch taking a peek at the time. 11:20 —Okay she was a bit early. Like always. I mean there weres worse habits to have. She sighed taking a seat on the Library’s steps. Setting the drinks next to her. Pulling out her phone she sent the man a quick text.

[TXT]: Oppa where are you, you shit. (Yeah I am aware it’s ten to.)

[TXT]: This spy ‘game’ better be worth it. ( •̀ω•́ )σ

She sighed a little before slipping the phone back into her pocket. She shuffled her feet along the concrete anxiously as she waited. Taking small sips of her warm drink. She didn’t look up as she heard footsteps approaching. “About time.” she mumbled as she gathered her drinks and stood.

@nicholasxpark

[nicholasxpark-blog]

📲 Hey, Um || Nick, Jyrda

[jyrda-nysse-blog]

The siren stares as the interior of the vehicle. Dark where the dashboard lights don’t reach. Nick sits behind the steering wheel as if it’s entirely normal to operate a machine of great mass and speed with only a hand and a foot. Jyrda sees the man’s lips move, half hearing what he says to her. The other part is firing fast as she envisions every way in which they could both be mangled among pounds of crushed steel, herself being reduced to ashes when the mechanisms of the car burst into flames.

The siren’s expression only twists into a deeper consternation, her usually absent breath suddenly kicking into life, rapid and short. Her fingers hold onto the frame of the door Nick had graciously opened for her but she lets go, a fine tremor in the digits that she swiftly tucks under her arms.

“No, not the card game.” Jyrda shuts her eyes in hopes that doing so will clear her mind of terrifying images she’d seen on the mortal’s interweb connection. Only the blackness of her own eyelids provides the perfect stage for every configuration of automobile accidents to flash horrifically in her mind.

Unnerved and now shaking from head to toe, the slender woman steps back from the car and the purr of its engine, her head tossing side to side as she breathes out, “Odin help me.”

She can’t get in that thing. It’s not safe, not right, not sane.

In an attempt to save her own image, Jyrda forces her eyes open to make contact with Nick’s own and insists. “I’m sorry, Nick, but I think I should walk.”

She turns toward where she knows Melankolli to be and begins taking steps in that direction, bare feet embracing the brush of grass beneath her soles. The ground is safe. It does not threaten to veer her off into certain death.

[nicholasxpark-blog]

Nick blinks as she stands in the open door. For a moment he wonders if he’s done something wrong, but a quick review tells him something else is upsetting her. Suddenly, Nick can see her look change from concern to all out terror. She’s looking around at everything but him... and possibly at the car? He’s not quite sure what she’s focused on, but as she tucks her hands under her arms and closes her eyes momentarily, his face falls a bit and he knows for some reason she’s not getting in. When she backs away entirely he wants to reach out, but he doesn’t know if it’s the right thing to do or what’s even going on. Her comment about walking sinks his heart like a stone. He doesn’t know where she’s going, particularly without any shoes.

Something’s so off from her usual strangeness that Nick pulls his keys from the car, and steps out quickly, not even bothering to shut the door completely. She’s moving fast away from the scene and he has to to jog to catch up with her and step in front of her path. He does so mostly because he wants her attention and she seems so out of it. Reaching out, he puts a hand on her shoulder, voice still soft as he tries to stop her forwards movement. “Hey...,” he tries to give his best smile, leans in a bit and gives her shoulder a light squeeze. “If it’s not the card game, then what’s up... you can tell me.” Despite the fact he knows she’s way older than him and able to defend herself he doesn’t want her walking alone in the dark this late just on principle. The feeling is doubled especially now with Ned’s Boys around. Something pulls in the back of his head with that thought, but it’s quickly gone in place of wondering about the woman in front of him. Leaning in further, Nick puts his other hand on her shoulder, just holds her at arms length gently as he waits for her to respond.

[red-carrion-deactivated20160627]

What Manners? | open

[red-carrion-deactivated20160627]

[Text]: Oh hello to you too. You’re very against the borrowing without permission idea.

[Text]: Exactly. I don’t work. I don’t attend school. I don’t pay tax. I also don’t own an ID or have an ID. I think my family lost my birth certificate. Social Security card, what’s that? (I know what it is actually)

[Text]: They are v. against the idea of all of the above. 

[nicholasxpark-blog]

[Text]: Oh, I’m sorry for that... You’re not affiliated with mob connections or anything are you? How do you get around without an ID? Are you here illegally?

[Text]: Oh my. Either way it depends on what you mean by ‘borrowing’ to be honest. If, and only if, you plan on returning the books then I could check some out for you and then you could return them to me. I won’t stop anyone from reading if they really seem to want to. 😌