LIMITLESS

STRADLIN RAMIREZ. SHE / THEY.

[cecilylisbons]

"I'd be scared I'd get stuck," she said, as it was the first thought that popped into her head, then looked to Stradlin with a grin. What they were insinuating wasn't totally lost on her but Cecily kept it moving just as easily as they did, not because she was particularly smooth but because she didn't know if it was flirting or aimed at her or even the sort of thing she was supposed to respond to. "Oh I wouldn't know where to look," she feigned innocence, playing it up in a way where Stradlin could hopefully tell she was full of it. "Plus, dormant religious guilt, I think I'm physically incapable of putting that into a search bar. What do you want my first impression to be?"

[strdln]

"Mm, yeah, you do got big feet," Stradlin kept looking down, revelling in being a little freak just for the sake of it. No wonder they considered Two-Bit their blood brother, they were definitely cut from the same cloth. Everyone knew the Lisbons were aliens, obviously, but there was no way they didn't know what onlyfans was considering rumour had it that one of them had been a stripper once upon a time. Not that they were allowed to talk about it according to stern directives from Diego, as much as Strad wanted to. They smirked at Cecily and gave a short, sarcastic nod, tucking that little tidbit away for later because thinking about her looking at that kind of stuff at a family event was dangerous behaviour. "Preaching to the choir, baby. Except I maybe went full throttle down the highway to hell when my mom left me for a preacher." They scoffed a laugh at the continued game of innocence, which they figured was a safety net more than anything. "Mind blowing is usually where I land, but I can be surprisingly tender lover with the right inspiration."

[cecilylisbons]

She narrowed her eyes, as that was definitely not what she'd meant. "I never said that. I think you should milk them for all they've got." They were at one of the infamous Lisbon-Cruz functions, which were rarer now that it was just Diego dating one of her sisters but he still insisted Marina bring as many of them with her that wanted to come. Cecily may or may not have tagged along in hopes she'd see Stradlin. "Oh thank you, you shouldn't," she joked back, sarcastic, then laughed. "So.. peanut butter, is that just spread on a plate or foot fully in the jar? What's next, apple sauce?"

[strdln]

Truthfully Stradlin was only there because Diego had asked and they hadn't been able to think up a lie fast enough. Of course they wanted to see Cecily, but there was always the small elephant in the room of her sister, the one that had fucked it up with Scott. Details didn't matter, their loyalty was bulletproof. Unlike some people's... "Fuckin' gross is what it was. Raw dogged straight into the jar. For real, after this I'm on a solids only diet. Nothing remotely spreadable. Well... almost nothing." They carried on easily, letting assumptions be made on their own, "Apple sauce is noted. We thank you for your feedback. But seriously, I'm like, begging you not to go looking. Talking about it is one thing but I can't have that being your first impression of my corny ass dirty talk."

[knoxiousoverman]

"Okay well if we're going this route, I have some questions like did the potatoes have to be hot? How long did you have to stand on them and I'm guessing you don't get to choose the food? If you ever do I suggest mint. That seems much more pleasant and you'll at worse smell like a mojito afterwards." Knox said before taking a drink of his mule. He cracked a smile when they selected a glass and Knox took it from there, "I've got you, let me take that." Knox wet a few paper towels then wrapped it around the glass and set it in the freezer to chill quickly, "In any case, I hope you're paid well for your troubles." He added while he muddled some mint in a shaker then added 2 shots of dark rum followed by some ice. "I get the impression you've known Two-Bit for quite sometime, how did you meet?" Knox knew the broad strokes about Chuck's long term paramour - he was a working actor who before that was quite prolific in a gang, he had a mother and sister but beyond that Two-Bit was an animated question mark who treated Knox's best friend like a prince, which was all he needed to know, but Knox was not opposed to knowing more about him and his friends, as it seemed as more time went on, integrating just made sense. After vigorously shaking the contents of the shaker, Knox retrieved the glass from the freezer, removed the now frozen paper towel, revealing a chilled glass, and topped it off with more ice. He poured the contents of the shaker into the glass and topped it off with ginger beer and a wedge of lime and a couple of slices of ginger, "Here you are." He slid the drink over to them, "One summer I got very into cocktail making." He offered by way of explanation then popped a piece of ginger in his mouth with a smile.

[strdln]

"They were warm because cold potatoes aren't soft and old boy wants to see that shit get between the toes real good, y'know?" Stradlin wasn't shy about what they were doing, nor were questions off limits. Sure as shit they weren't gonna gatekeep wringing weirdos out of the cash they obviously had too much of. Life was hard enough as it was without helping each other out. "I mean I could choose if I wanted for general consumption but I make more on personalised requests. Like... stomping on a hotdog with heels on and telling some guy he's got a pathetic little cock? Crazy work. And feet shit is good 'cause I don't want my face in it. Plenty of weirdos in the world, I don't need 'em following me home." They watched Knox do his thing with the drink, which was honestly more effort than she ever put into serving anything down at Katz, if only because fancy cocktails weren't the point of a club where everyone just wanted to get wasted. "Uh, yeah, TB's like a big brother to me. I came into his circle when we were in high school. Got kicked out of home and Damo and his wife took me in. He's like... communal dad vibes, y'know? Always tired of our bullshit but gives pretty good advice if you're willing to listen. Turns out they came with a whole ass crew. TB, Soda, Pony, Diego, Javi, so now I got more brothers than I ever fuckin' needed," they laughed, and took the drink to taste. "I reckon Chuck fits in pretty well there. You, however... might need to learn how to crack a beer with your nipples. That's no slight on you though, you could be one of those guys on insta who finger a chicken cavity in slow motion for lonely housewives' entertainment, y'know? You got that respectable look about you. Drink's fuckin' bomb too. You one of those people who got a million random as fuck hobbies, huh?"

[cecilylisbons]

She pulled a face not out of disgust this time but surprise, mostly at their quick reply, then laughed. "I'm not judging you," she clarified. "Just the golden retriever who's paying you apparently. Don't look at my feet," she warned, even knowing it'd only present a challenge to someone like Stradlin, as she stared them down.

[strdln]

"What, you don't think I'm a worthy cause?" Stradlin held Cecily's gaze for a long moment, then flicked her eyes down to her feet. What else was a shithead like her supposed to do with a challenge like that? "I'm sure you got nice ones but, ah, that's not my thing. And for you? It'd be on the house anyways."

[knoxiousoverman]

"I would at least prefer door man." Knox said with a small smile of his own when they made it clear they were joking around. Talking to Stradlin was a lot like talking to Two-Bit which was not quite the same but similar enough to what it felt like talking to Chuck so he was pretty good at rolling with the punches. "I'll do? Okay well I'll help to the best of my ability. Am I really known as the overly polite one. Oh man, that is…well it could be worse, I'll take it." Knox meant it, he was happy to help, but he was only understanding the term 'freakism' from context clues. "Yeah, even with a girlfriend whom I am wildly attracted to I don't think we're touching their libido levels. Match made in heaven. So have you decided?" He asked, reminding them of his offer to make them a drink.

[strdln]

"Yeah, you'll do. We ain't friends yet, we just know some guys, but maybe now's the time." Stradlin wiggled their brows, optimistic that if the guy was friends with Chuck then surely they'd get along outside of pleasantries even if he was a nerd. Perrie was a nerd and they loved him like family. Hell, it was good practice for them too, who didn't make a habit of making new friends. Miss Jane would be so proud. "World's just lucky all they can do is keep trying to put a baby in each other. We'd have a whole little league team by now otherwise." As for the drink, they found themselves a glass and swirled it on the counter. "Sure, hit me. What have we got in the way of dark liquors..."

[knoxiousoverman]

Two-Bit's friends were an interesting bunch, and intermingling with Two-Bit's friends were never the same twice. While he and Chuck weren't hosting a party per se, more than an open door impromptu get together, Knox was always going to show up, already feeling awful for having to miss Chuck's reading, he felt he had to make up for it even though logically he knew he couldn't be everywhere all of the time. So there he was, enjoying a well made Moscow Mule alone for the time being as Chuck and Two-Bit went to the back to ...well Knox couldn't remember the lie they'd half assed that only equated to they were fucking in their room. "Uh hello - I'm going to wager that I wasn't who you expected to see when you entered with that amazing declaration. Do you remember me? I'm Knox, Chuck's friend, they're occupied at the moment. Do you want a drink? Sounds like you could use one."

[strdln]

"You're telling me Two-Bit's so bougie now he got his ugly ass a door boy?" Stradlin wasn't shy in looking Knox up and down, always happy to fuck around with someone of a milder personality type. A quick grin shot across their face, clueing him in to the fact they were goofing, "Yeah, I was kinda hoping Chuck could give me freakism tips for maximum payage but whatever, you'll do. Of course I remember you. You're the pathologically polite one," they chuckled, giving him a friendly nudge with their shoulder as they headed to the kitchen. "You can say they're fucking, everyone knows they're fucking. Even when they're not, they're thinking about it. Imagine being that obsessed with someone. My boy hit the damn jackpot."

[cecilylisbons]

Cecily's nose scrunched up as she made sense of what they'd just said, a slightly delayed reaction on her part. Not even because she was sheltered but because she couldn't comprehend mashed potatoes being in a sexual context, ever. "Ew. What was last week's, do I want to know?"

[strdln]

"Peanut butter," Stradlin blurted out with zero hesitation. They had no shame in the matter, money was money and getting it from some weirdo on the internet was like taking candy from a baby. "Working at Damo's club is alright but I'm not trying to spend the rest of my life just scraping by, you know? You look like you got nice feet, maybe we should team up sometime."

[strdln]

"Crazy how my entire ability to pay rent is dependent on some guy who likes watching me stand on food," Stradlin was checking their bank balance, grateful that they'd made it by the skin of their teeth to pay their rent. "This week was mashed potato. Only con is that I'm never gonna eat that shit again."

[strdln]

"Fuck this jumpscare shit–" Stradlin had reeled backwards, if only for the safety of the person who had popped out of nowhere beside her. The Addams house was like a labyrinth in the dark so she wouldn't have been surprised if there were secret passages in the walls too. "You're lucky I'm a lover not a fighter or I'd have knocked your fuckin' head off." Not that she was a violent person anyway; despite her found family being comprised mostly of Greasers she wasn't one herself, though Soda had given her enough lessons on throwing punches that she could if she wanted to.

[strdln]

🎃 ; STRADLIN as a VAMPIRE

[cecilylisbons]

"I'm saying you should be careful." She bit back a grin, though her face fell a second when Stradlin brought up Tessa and the bakery fire. She knew better than to give that any sort of premature reaction though and she waited a beat before they were smirking up at her, and Cecily shook her head. "It's not that bad, not anymore than usual at least. Thanks... you too. Any particular reason you're hiding out here..? Or did you just need a break?"

[strdln]

Stradlin knew their mouth had a habit of getting them in trouble, the problem was that it was usually too late before they realised they'd perhaps gone a step too far. Still, they'd said what they'd said and they weren't the type to make excuses if they got called out on it. Luckily Cecily seemed to either not be bothered or perhaps too close to her daily word limit to say much else. "I'm not hiding," they scoffed. "About to leave. Got stood up by all the fuckin' boys. Only so much of Jane and Damo being cute I can be around before I feel like I'm interrupting something, y'know?"

[cecilylisbons]

Of all the Rosewood events she had to like galas the least; getting dressed up was fun but then it was hours of trying to figure out what to do with her hands. She'd sit back and observe as she normally did but the additional adult presence made her uncomfortable, their judgmental glances different from those of her peers'. If Cecily happened to step out for air at the same time as Stradlin it was pure coincidence and not because she'd gotten the idea from them. She shook her head, "I don't smoke but... Have you seen the curtains in there? Highly flammable I'd bet."

[strdln]

"You insinuating I'm a criminal?" Stradlin might not have been a hardened criminal the likes of Ace Claymore, but they certainly were an expert shit stirrer. "Considering your sister is in there and I had to watch Soda lose his damn mind when she got caught in that bakery fire... I know y'all are self involved but that's next level." They shook their head to themselves, then smirked back up at Cecily so she'd know they were only fucking around. "Must be bad if you're joking about lighting the place up. You look nice at least, which is all anyone in there cares about."

[strdln]

"Ball this, ball that... Gargle these fuckin' balls..." Stradlin grumbled to themselves as they lingered outside the event, flicking their lighter open and shut. They weren't nervous, they just felt out of place, and that was a feeling they'd worked long and hard to overcome so every time it arose it was frustrating. When they felt eyes on them, they looked up without shame, eyebrow raised, "You want a light or somethin'?"

[strdln]

[dulcie-hernandez]

"Porque no los dos?" Dulcie laughed as she raised and eyebrow then followed their line of site. "We can all contain multitudes." She smiled at the question and thought about it for a moment. "Maybe, yeah. At least for a little bit. Unless you want to drink alone which, more power to you I guess." Dulcie gave them a little salute and made space for them to get down before they started moving through the crowd. "After you."

[strdln]

"Such as being bottoms and tops," Stradlin laughed, full bodied in a clearly drunken manner. "Ah yes, you nailed it. Came to Pride to drink on my own. Actually, no I came to send straight women into a sexuality spiral and disappear in a puff of smoke." It was always a vibe in Katz, but even more so that night. Stradlin was smooth in the way they navigated the crowd with practiced precision, only pausing to check if Dulcie was still there. "You good?"

[cecilylisbons]

Cecily wasn't sure if she'd ever thought of it like that, that in a place where everyone felt entitled to each other's business the Lisbon mythos lied in their privacy. Or rather, it was something she'd always known and it just felt especially obvious the way Stradlin said it. "Oh there's some truth to that one. Way more interesting than witches too." Her idea of fun usually involved sticking by the sidelines. "Yeah, people watching," she said easily, being a bit of a smart ass about it as she took a sip of her drink. "I'll go with you if you wait for me to finish mine. Unless that's not an invite, then I'll just you know, fuck off."

[strdln]

"Witches are cool too but we already got plenty of those around here," they waved a hand dismissively. "Hey, no shade, bet you see some wild shit." Because the goal was to get the youngest Lisbon doing something they weren't sure anyone had ever seen before, Stradlin eased up, clearly in no rush to finish their drink. "How about this... You teach me how to people watch first."

[cecilylisbons]

"Not everyone can be an original," she joked back. She didn't think all comparison was inherently bad though; the Lisbons had their own similarities, traits that overlapped between two, three, or all five of them. And yet they were all their own people still. "True. We're also not as mysterious as people think. And I definitely don't fall into that louder category but this," she nodded to the party, "This is fun."

[strdln]

"From the outside looking in, you're mysterious because you're not obsessed with letting people in on every second of your life in some egotistical parade. Gives people room to fill in the blanks however they want. And, I mean, y'all are mad synced up. Can't say I don't see the merit in the telepathic alien sirens from Venus theory, just sayin'." Stradlin shrugged, obviously knowing enough about them by now that they knew they were just normal people, but a good story was fun too. "This, as in standing here watching everyone else have fun, or..." They looked over at the edge of the crowd only a few feet away where the lingerers on the fringes melted into those properly dancing, then back to Cecily. "When I finish my drink I'm goin' in."