Tick Tick Boom

“There is a method to my madness, you know.“ - Johnny Storm from Marvel

[ambercast]

"I don't like dust either," Dante said pointedly. "There's a reason why I work in a sterile environment." If Sora could see his house, he'd see just how clean and meticulous Dante was. But he never let anyone into the house. "Staying away from red meat because of your heart?" he asked curiously.

[sorarushesin]

Sora gave another shrug not the least bothered by Dante's tone, he'd gotten use to it after a while. Considering how much Yag was also at the house now, his usual cheery attitude was as consistent as always. Rubbing idly at his chest he shook his head, "No, figured if I have to rush into the water rather not be half in a food coma. Which is what's bound to happen if I start eating a burger or some of that sausage. You planning on actually socializing when I go back on duty?" A part of him felt guilty about leaving his friend to fly solo if that was the case.

[bcckmcskcd]

Jäger suddenly felt very stupid at the question, and glanced down, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Yeah; maybe." He was over there a lot as it was, though usually burrowed into Sutton's covers. "I don't think we have a ton of that lying around unfortunately, but maybe you could go for the marker method." His eyes traveled from Sora to the rope, shuddering a little. "You'd disrupt everyone on the tubes. But I think that would be kind of funny anyway."

[sorarushesin]

"Marker method?" Sora repeated curiously as he looked at Yag, "What's that? Only thing I used markers for before was to color in my legs when I got a hole in my pants." Usually it annoyed his dad who was happy to patch things for him. Glancing at the rope, he stuck his tongue out in thought, "I could swing to the side, at least avoid hitting em," he had missed the shudder, "You want to see me do a flip or something?"

[callofthxvoid]

Georgie was beginning to understand that Sora had been holding back how charming he could be, likely because of how withholding she was, and that made her feel oddly cared for in a way that she had not expected. Realising that he likely could have had her falling hard and fast and hadn't did make it seem less likely that he was playing her for shits and giggles. "Well, you know what happens after the hero rescues the damsel," she started, stepping closer until she was right in his space again. "He rescues her right back." Cocking her head to the side, she held his gaze as she stayed in that spot, not showing any signs of backing down. "That romantic enough for you, Trouble?"

[sorarushesin]

Trouble. Sora was starting to think that nickname applied more to Georgie than it did with him. He felt his breath hitch at how close she was, "Um...yeah I'd say it is," he said eyes flickering down for a brief second and hyper aware of how close she really was to him. It wouldn't take much to close the gap between them if he leaned down, still something had him pausing. "I know I was joking about drowning for a kiss, but how are my odds looking if I skip the drowning part?" he asked eyes flickering back up to hers.

[wanderinglcst-deactivated202412]

Frank had a feeling that it wasn't Hawk who's the Kingdom Hearts fan, he was big and huge, honestly? It still gave him heart palpations whenever he and Zelda would spend time with him and Matt. "Oh um... I'm kind of really anxious living there" he explained "it wasn't that bad when I first came but over time it's just become more unsettled so we've opt to move away."

[sorarushesin]

Sora's brows furrowed, mildly concerned and wondering if he should give Sutton a heads up, though Hawk had mentioned Frank was anxious in general. "Oh that makes sense, if you need any help moving out I can swing by," he grinned slightly, "Unless you'd rather ask Hawk and Matt, sure Hawk be thrilled."

[wanderinglcst-deactivated202412]

Frank was just finishing tending to someone's sunburn with a stern look and was handing them some sunscreen when Sora walked in and introduced himself. "Oh hey..." He took the gloves off and held a hand out to Sora. "It's nice to meet you, Sora. Very Kingdom Hearts of you." Frank shook his hand with a smile. "Yeah, we're moving into an apartment soon."

[sorarushesin]

Sora reached forward shaking his hand firmly like he'd been taught in the past. Chuckling he gave a small shrug, "Thanks my dad is a huge fan," he said without thinking, opting to side step which one he meant. "My best friend's boyfriend lives at the Commune, it just too cramp there for you guys now?" He'd thought about asking Sutton if she wanted to move but he liked having their own space.

[ambercast]

Dante glanced toward the water. "The amount of human skin and fluids that are in there right now makes that option really unappealing," he said, shaking his head. He didn't even really want to be here. He was just here because Dami was here. He looked back over at Sora. "I could eat, though."

[sorarushesin]

Sora glanced at Dante then back at the water before back to Dante, "I mean isn't dust just human skin or whatever? Least the water would be refreshing," he said giving a small shrug. Nodding he went with him towards the food, "You can get whatever you want, my treat. Was probably just gonna stick to corn on the cob for right now."

[callofthxvoid]

Georgie couldn't help the amused smile on her face. Bantering with Sora was easy, and it felt like every time one of them upped the stakes, the other managed to match their level effortlessly. "Luckily, you make a very dashing damsel," she quipped back, and in spite of the teasing tone in her voice, that hint of sincerity never left her smile. Cocking her head to the side, she made a show of considering his question before looking back at him. "Yeah, I think you've earned it," she concluded with a shrug. "But be warned, behind the whole hot and cold facade there's like a super, super sappy romantic."

[sorarushesin]

Sora felt the flush come back even if he was grinning at her, "You know I'm realizing now, I'm a pretty bad lifeguard if I end up needing rescuing. But hey not a bad way to manage a first kiss." He was probably flirting more than usual, but knowing she was as happy to banter with him had him more comfortable. "Yeah? So what's your idea for romance for today?"

[bcckmcskcd]

"You'd want to do that?" He had a few friends, but they weren't the movie and video games type. "Yeah, sure. That could be fun." Pondering the question for a moment, he laughed. "Obviously you'd be Archie. I'm clearly a Jughead." The portals, quite frankly, freaked Jäger out, but he wasn't about to say that. "It's old news after a while, I guess. Almost everything is, even the tragedies." He mumbled. "Even I plan on wading around a little. It's too nice out not to want to get your legs a little wet."

[sorarushesin]

Sora blinked before nodding, "Yeah? It was usually just me and Sutton hanging out at my house. Be cool to have a full couch," he said. He'd had other friends he hung out with, but the majority was the duo camped out in the living room. Shaking his head, Sora ran a hand through his hair, "Find some hair dye and I can go full redhead for Halloween or something," he said. He nodded his head in understanding it had been weird to have his business in the gossip column over Hawk being his biological father but eventually even that had faded. "Yeah I'm getting kind of use to how weird this town is," he admitted absently rubbing at his chest, "Might take a literal swing off that rope they got set up, be fun to do a cannonball."

[callofthxvoid]

Georgie raised an eyebrow at the cheeky comment and the easy grin on Sora's face that followed. He really was that dangerous combination of genuinely nice boy and shameless flirt. But she could be a flirt too. "Yeah," she challenged, holding his gaze as she took a pointed step closer. "I think I've got a handle on you. Is that a problem?" She leaned in, definitely intruding on his personal space; or she would have been, if he wasn't so goddamn tall. Her smile turned more sincere as she stepped back again.

"I was trying not to like hanging out with you," she admitted sheepishly. "But I was failing miserably, and then I had a moment when I thought you'd be scared off from hanging out with me entirely. So, you know, that put some things into perspective. Why fight it?" Georgie shrugged. "Playing hard to get isn't really who I am, anyway."

[sorarushesin]

Sora felt his breath hitch when Georgie moved closer, before slowly shaking his head. "Nope," he said the p coming out with a slight pop to it, "You're supposed to be the hero right? I can play the damsel," he said, feeling a sense of disappointment when she did step back from him. His brow furrowed at her words before once again he was slowly nodding, more acutely aware of how much taking a chance on him actually meant to Georgie. "To be honest it was more less scared off, and more just didn't want to bug you," he admitted, "So do I get to find out who you actually are now?"

[bcckmcskcd]

"It's all we've got in this hellhole," Yag retorted, and while he still seemed a little prickly, he knew Sora didn't mean anything by it. "There's so few things to look forward to around here, we gotta go all out when we can." He raised an eyebrow, ,but shrugged. "Yeah, sure; we can share it, have our own Archie comic cover or whatever. It'll be funny." He started towards the food area, glancing back at Sora. "Are you having fun even if you have to play lifeguard?"

[sorarushesin]

Sora nodded, "Makes sense, could always do some movie nights are our place or video games," he mused out loud. It wouldn't be the same as a large event but it at least make things feel more normal. Laughing he shook his head, "I'm almost scared to ask if I'm Jughead or Archie in this scenario," he said easily following after him, "Yeah, lifeguard duty been pretty lax. Whole portal thing I think lost the appeal and most people are steering clear. The weird flood got some folks wary of the water though, don't blame them but seems like a waste to come out and not at least dip your feet in."

[callofthxvoid]

Georgie let out a breath of relief when Sora seemed fine with what happened—or at least fine enough to make jokes about it. "Hey, if Abby had told me what she wanted to do, I would have told her I have things handled," she shot back playfully, giving him a gentle nudge with her shoulder. "And that is exactly what I said when she told me what she did afterwards. After I was done being mortified." She paused. "I do like you, by the way. I like hanging out with you. Guess I haven't exactly been super clear about that."

[sorarushesin]

"So you got a handle on me then?" Sora asked raising a brow at her as his grin widened. His gaze softened as he sighed and nodded, "Yeah I'll be real you're kind of hard to read. Really hot and cold at the beginning there," he admitted giving a small shrug. "For the record I like hanging out with you too, was kind of bummed thinking about not getting to for a second there."

[sorarushesin]

WHERE: Lake Party WHO: Dante (@ambercast)

“Hey dude I got some time before I gotta get back on duty, wanna grab some food or a drink?” Sora asked as he fell into step with Dante. “You actually get a chance to go swimming yet?”

[sorarushesin]

WHERE: Lake Party WHO: Frank (@wanderinglcst)

Sora was messing with his watch, it was waterproof but he still felt a little nervous about it. He's swung by the medical tent to let them know he was taking his break from lifeguard duty but he'd have his radio. Spotting Frank he jogged over to him, “Uh hey, Frank right? I'm Sora I'm..,” hesitating briefly before nervously chuckling, “I'm Zelda's brother, you guys get a place in town yet?”

[bcckmcskcd]

closed event starter for @sorarushesin

Was Yag avoiding Sora? Yes. It had been all fun and games at the ball until he had all but completely broken down, and while Georgie seeing him like that was one thing, Sora was essentially a stranger, and on top of it all, he was close to Sutton. Jäger felt embarrassed, but the longer he avoided Sora, the more impossible it seemed to bridge the gap.

"Hey," he kicked the toe of his shoe into the dirt, close enough to Sora so that it was obvious he was the one Yag was talking to. "You wanna go like. Check out the live music or whatever?"

[sorarushesin]

When Phoenix had pushed Sora to take another break he hadn't argued. Considering how hard Hawk pushed himself he wasn't surprised that Phoenix was concerned over him. Glancing over at Yag he grinned, "Hell yeah dude, y'all really do go all out for these things." Yag made Sutton happy and considering how little happiness she'd had in the last year, that made Sora grateful to him. The ball had been a mess but Yag had kept Sutton from spiraling and he'd been able to focus on Georgie, things he'd worked out in his opinion. "I was thinking about getting a margarita but I'm technically on lifeguard duty. Think I can get a sip or two if you get one?" He asked as he fell into step next to him.

[callofthxvoid]

WHERE: Lake Party WHO: Sora Griffon ( @sorarushesin )

"I'm glad you agreed to come here with me," Georgie said, glancing up at Sora and giving him a small, playful smile. Now that she was less in denial about liking him, she was a lot more Aware of the effect his general presence had on her, which made her a lot less prickly—but a lot more nervous. At least she had stopped trying to actively fight the feeling. For the most part. "I wasn't sure you were going to after the whole..." She gestured vaguely. "Y'know, being ambushed at your workplace by my friend."

[sorarushesin]

Despite ending on good terms after Abby had shown up, Sora had been more than a little apprehensive about meeting up with Georgie. Still she had seemed apologetic about it all, and he did genuinely like hanging out with her. "Wasn't the most fun, but I get it, Sutton almost went on the warpath about it. She at least listens when I tell her I got things handled," he gave her a small grin, clearly teasing towards the end with his tone.

[sorarushesin]

Sora Lake Party 2024

[ambercast]

Dante didn't know how to describe what he felt when he saw his 'friends.' He knew he wasn't soulless, but he also never felt anything all that strongly. He knew he had feelings of some kind, or at least, something resembling feelings. It wasn't quite a warmth, but maybe something closer to contentment?

Everything was always so difficult to explain.

He held out his hand for the statements. "I have blood samples for Mrs. Knightley. You can follow me downstairs or stay here. We haven't gotten the bodies back in the ground yet."

[sorarushesin]

Sora was nodding before he could really think over what he'd agreed to, "Yeah I can follow," pausing he frowned, "You're not gonna get in trouble having me down there with you right?" Even so he was already following behind Dante, it wasn't the first time he'd been around cadavers, but it still wasn't the most pleasant experience. "How do you not just feel cold all the time down here," he mumbled zipping up his jacket.