[Ashley Wolfe]

OOC: So, I was gonna make Ashley a Capricorn just so I could post a birthday-post for him but then I decided he had to be a Cancer, so let's just pretend this thread took place approximately 6 months ago on his birthday in July!

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APPROXIMATELY 6 MONTHS AGO...

Twenty-nine.

When Ashley blinked open his eyes that morning and got himself showered and dressed for work, he couldn't help but remember how delighted and overexcited his mother would always get on his birthdays — screeching her "good mornings" in a voice pitched high with glee as she clasped her hands together happily. Breaking into his apartment and bounding, without a single skip of hesitance, into his room with plate upon heaping plate of breakfast food that she'd picked up on the way. They'd eat together under the window in his tiny, cramped kitchen before she'd drag him into Riverside for the entire morning, stopping in every store and shop just to look around. There was always a cake waiting back at his parents' house for the end of the evening; that was Mona's favorite part. Every year, she'd made Antonio take a picture of them in front of the cake. Her in the middle, smiling the widest out of all of them with her arms thrown around both her children — Dane on one side, looking like he wanted to be elsewhere, and Dino on the other, smiling as he leaned into her. Somewhere well hidden, Ashley knew he had one of the pictures tucked away.

But it was his fifth birthday out of the Guild and his mother would forever keep him in her mind as he had been at twenty-four. The first few years after his dying, Ashley had spent his birthdays cautiously to himself, lying low as he tested the shallows of his new life... but the last two had been a bit more lively, as he gradually expanded his social circles and grew bolder in his non-existence. For his twenty-eighth, before moving back to California, he'd gotten completely tanked with some co-workers. That'd been one wild, unwise Monday night that'd resulted in some grouchy, sleepless office assistants gathered around the breakroom coffee pot the next morning, half-asleep on their feet and feeling like death.

This year had been quiet in comparison, but no less pleasant. His elderly neighbor had baked him some delicious blueberry muffins, which he'd brought to work to share. He'd had a dinner date planned with a coworker, but she'd ended up canceling when her kid came down with some sort of flu. A patient had drawn him a birthday card on a piece of folded printer paper and even fashioned him some sort of trinket using glue and a handful of rocks from the courtroom's gardens, which Ashley had tied to the bracelet on his wrist with a grateful grin. He'd planned to take the lonely woman on an outing by the supermarket after work so she could pick out some treats and a few other things that she needed. But he hadn't wrapped up his work until late and by the time he'd scrubbed down and cleaned up, the lovely lady was already curled up and snoring in her armchair. So Ashley had simply left a light on for her, as she liked, then slipped out into the night.

The summer night was warm and calm. Even as Ashley blinked sleep from his eyes, he knew the dryness that clung to them was more from staring at the same sheet of text for the past hour than a desire for sleep. He wasn't really tired and, as appealing as crawling into bed sounded... perhaps starting that season finale he'd recorded and been avoiding with equal parts excitement and dread... he wasn't quite ready to head home. And so, when he passed a small, local movie theatre along the street, he tucked his hand into a pocket and ducked inside on a whim.

The movie theatre wasn't popular, overshadowed as it was by the much larger and more impressive LEC movie theatre, so Ashley wasn't surprised to find not many people inside. A young couple giggled to themselves as they perused candy, the tell-tale pink of intoxication high on their cheeks while they tripped over one another's feet. A man with his young daughter's hand clasped in his own was checking his phone while she tried tugging him unsuccessfully in the direction of the arcade. Otherwise, the place was quiet and vacant. Ashley lifted his gaze to the overhead marquee to check showtimes. The theatre only offered three screens and on deck was a kid's film, a gritty action-thriller, and a period romance — all of them approaching their last showing for the night. He shifted his weight and considered his options.

Eventually, he got in line and purchased a ticket for the period romance, deciding with great certainty that he didn't want to share the tiny theatre with the drunk couple (he imagined they were there for the action movie) and wasn't terribly interested in the kid's film either. If that showing was mostly empty then the little girl could badger her father with questions and exclamations without the man feeling obliged to hush her. Plus, wouldn't a lone, adult man seem a bit misplaced watching a cartoon by himself? The period romance was only marginally better, he suspected.

Unfortunately, his selected movie started a whole half-hour later than the other two so after he bought his ticket Ashley pocketed his wallet and stepped off toward the arcade, prepared to waste some time.

[Deleted]

lots of fake in this space

CAN YOU MAKE IT STOP?

The crisp air bit at her face as Mattis entered the outside - the first time in over twelve hours she had felt it against her skin. She inhaled a deep breath - fresh air was always so nice after suffocating under her surgical grade mask for most of her shift. Usually, Mattie would be dragging herself home to bed after such an exhausting work day, however tonight she felt more inclined to adventure. She got in her BMW and made her way towards the small, local movie theater. She sat in her car while she scrolled through google, searching her options. 

The miniscule collection of choices was nearly enough for her to shift back into drive and change her mind completely - except she was a sucker for a romance. Even if it the short, one minute clip she had found made it look extremely cheesy. At least she would likely be free to sob alone and in peace, as she didn't imagine many other folks would be in the same theater. Mattie excited her vehicle and made her way to the ticket booth, handing the cashier a twenty. After settling up her change, she realized the movie didn't start for quite some time still. She noticed an arcade tucked into the corner of the theater, and started to make her way there.

She saw the classic machine almost immediately - Mrs. Pacman had been her favorite game as a child. Of course her version hadn't been the standing machine, but rather a digital version, though she had played the classic a few times. She walked up, depositing her quarters and the game sprung to life. After a few minutes, she jumped with excitement, and whispered a rewarding, "Yes!" to herself on a win. She deposited more change, ready for another round. That was when she saw the man out of her peripheral, and her face became as red as a cherry. "Oh my god," she breathed half-hoping he hadn't heard her, "that is so embarrassing!"

Ashley Wolfe

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","kflight"]Like the rest of the theatre, the arcade showed similar signs of neglect and disuse. The room's spacious layout suggested that, at one time, there had been double the number of machines. Half of those that remained were lifeless; their screens darkened and their coin-slots covered with tape. What was once a prize counter along the back wall, where kids and anyone else could exchange their hard-won tickets for trivial trinkets and treats, was barren. A few claw-games lined another wall but only one was stocked (and meagerly so). It was quiet; the goading call-outs from the few, operational games too scattered to be fitting. [break][break]

Ashley took a moment to picture the arcade as it must have been in its heyday. Lively and bright, with twice the amount of machines to make weaving through the gathered people more difficult. To lend more flashing lights and chaotic noise to the enthusiastic chatter. Perhaps, at one time, kids had walked to the theatre with no intent to watch a movie at all, but to spend their quarters challenging one another and besting the newest high score. Driving elbows into each other's ribs as they mashed buttons and accused each other of cheating. [break][break]

But with the theatre's slow decline in popularity, Ashley imagined that the arcade became gradually impossible to maintain. The owners would have eventually decided they couldn't afford to staff both the concession counter and prize booth. Became unable to maintain the machines when they went haywire so elected instead to sell them. And, eventually, the kids would have stopped coming. Relocated to whatever newer, flashier place their favorite game had gone. He wondered if any of those kids were grown now, towing around children of their own — and if they ever brought them here, remembering the place fondly for what it had been once. It was more likely they took them to the newer cinema, the kids unable to see the old place's appeal without their parents' nostalgia.[break][break]

Ashley pulled the wallet from his pocket and stepped to the change-making machine. When he fed it a five-dollar bill, it gave a long, plaintive whine and then went silent. After a long, quiet moment, he suspected he was just out five dollars, unwilling as he was to badger the single employee working the front end — he was young, probably a high-schooler working through the summer when he wanted nothing more than to spend his nights elsewhere — only to be told he didn't know how to fix it. But, a couple of seconds later, the machine gave a groan and the quarters clinked slowly, one by one, down into a collecting tray. With a small, bemused shake of his head, Ash pocketed them and turned, stepping forward to give the meager selection of games their due glance-over.[break][break]

He felt a prickle of discomfort as he passed the room's only shooter game. He intended to ignore the videogame villain's cheesy challenge as he stepped by, but his feet stilled of their own accord. Don't be ridiculous. It's just a game. He turned and stepped to it, forcibly swallowing his stiffness with a hint of self-deprecation. But the faint discomfort remained lodged in his throat as his fingers deposited a couple of quarters and he picked up the gun. Even though the thing was plastic, gaudy, and laughably light, it felt too sickeningly familiar in his hand. Too disgusting. He lifted it before him as the game started, pointing it at the screen and scoffing a small, distracted laugh as he noted that the aim was terribly off.[break][break]

The game started and he tried to enjoy it for what it was. But when he became aware of the tension in his trigger-finger, he holstered the fake pistol halfway through the round and turned his back. Ignoring the sounds of his character's health depleting behind him, and then the game's countdown (prompting for more credits if he wanted to continue), he shook his head, wiped his clammy palms on his jeans, and realized he was no longer alone.[break][break]

A woman was standing before one of the classic upright machines, focused intently on the screen before her. The resounding 'wacca wacca wacca's made looking at the game's title unnecessary and his mouth pulled at the corner as he stepped around to the machine that was backed against hers. He deposited his coins, recalling how his mother had once taken to playing a Ms. Pac-Man emulator on a hand-held device at their dinner table for a whole week. A (very long) week in which she was mad at her husband and wanted to be passive-aggressive and broody. Dinner had been uncomfortably silent except for the sound of her game. Until Dane had said a very lewd joke about Ms. Pac-Man and their mother dropped the device to smash his face into his dinner plate. She'd been amused then, all intentions to be silent and catty completely forgotten while she smothered her own snickers and Dane swiped mashed potatoes from his eyes.[break][break]

The game cawed out a win — too loud in the otherwise almost-empty room — and immediately following the quiet, muted fanfare of victory, the woman leaped into the air and hissed her satisfaction. Ashley's grin deepened and he leaned sidelong to tip his head and catch a glimpse of her from the side of his machine. She noticed him and reeled herself in, face darkening with embarrassment. He could hear her mutter something to herself and he chuckled, just loud enough to be heard, as he brought his attention half-heartedly back to the game before him, mind beginning to turn.[break][break]

His movie was the last showing of the night. The other two that the theatre offered had already started. Which meant this woman was here to watch the period drama. That, or she was waiting to pick someone up? Wouldn't it be terribly awkward for them to be the only two people in the theatre? He could already imagine following her into the room, overthinking how close was too close to sit to her. And likewise, how far was too far to be considered weird. It would be a half-dozen seconds of debating, with his drink and popcorn held before him dumbly as he eyed the rows of seats analytically.[break][break]

Then again, what were the odds she was watching the movie alone? Typically, as far as he knew, people didn't do that. It was far more likely that she was waiting for someone. And if that were the case — if someone showed up — Ashley figured the considerate thing to do then would be to skip the movie altogether. Let them have the theatre to themselves to giggle, chat, and talk loudly with abandon. Without the fear of annoying him. [break][break]

Unable to focus entirely on his game, his distraction cost him his last life and he frowned at his screen. He supposed, the least awkward thing to do, was start a conversation beforehand. Then perhaps when the time did come to choose a seat — if no one showed up — he'd have some sort of idea on how receptive she was to company. How little or much room he should allow her. Or if he should bounce even if she was alone.[break][break]

"Damn," he started quietly, clucking as if disappointed in his losing. "Sounds like you're a bit better at this than me." He leaned sidelong again, glancing at her around their machines and testing a small, open smile. "The high score lists are safe from me, that's for sure."


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@mattis

sorry this is so long, rambly, and aimless, and that dino didn't even do hardly anything lmaoooo ;v; my brain is such tomato rn, big struggle-bus month for me let me tell ya~

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[Deleted]

lots of fake in this space

CAN YOU MAKE IT STOP?

Her face was beat red, she was sure of it. She wrapped her arms around herself as the man took his turn at the game. She could feel his emotions - confident, but not arrogant or cruel. There was a softness about him that drew her in, for the curiosity of it, if nothing else. She smiled as he tossed her a few lines of playful banter about loosing his game. "I'm really not that good either, it was a lot of luck," she paused, tilting her head to her side and letting her arms fall - she felt safe enough that he wouldn't attack her on his first chance. "The games were more entertaining than the movie choices, is all," she snorted - the three theater selection had not left her with much.

Mattie swiftly noticed the theater growing more and more empty, until the only presence left was her own, her new acquaintance, and a singular concession stand and ticket worker. "Well that happened fast," every one had made their way to their seats for the beginning of their films - Mattie realized this new stranger must have been waiting for the romance movie, like herself. She chuckled, "not that I know anything - but I wouldn't picture a - seemingly so, anyways - bachelor here for a chick flick. Nice to see that chivalry and romance lives on." Small talk made her growingly nervous and she noticed herself rambling - after all, Mattie was and introvert and mostly stuck to herself. 

Ashley Wolfe

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","kflight"]The woman smiled, claiming modesty as she downplayed her victory. It was owed to luck, she said, and Ashley tipped his head concedingly. That was fair enough. He owed a lot to luck himself. So much so that he could hardly fault it for not shining on him when it came to Galaga or Asteroids. [break][break]

He lifted a brow, eyes glinting with amusement as she made a sly comment on his choice of movie; assuming that he was not only a bachelor, but a romantic one. He considered joking that bachelors — at least the smart and practiced ones — would very much be interested in chick flicks. Or, more accurately, the women who frequented them. It was something his brother would undoubtedly do. Sit through a three-hour movie and pretend to be invested just to catch a pretty girl's hopeful eye. [break][break]

But — despite her chuckle and tease — the woman seemed nervous, her cheeks still flushed with embarrassment and her arms held at her sides as if she weren't yet decided about him. He decided to keep the joke to himself, not wanting to put the idea in her head and make her wonder about him. "Well, I could lie and say I'm just here to poke fun at it." His mouth tugged at one corner, pulling into something crookedly abashed. "But I think it'd be hard to play it off if you catch me teary-eyed mid-movie. It is a remake though..." he grinned a bit wider, knowingly; he was really selling himself out now, admitting he'd seen the original and thoroughly dashing any 'cool guy' preconceptions she might still harbor. "So they won't catch me by surprise and I might be able to stay strong." [break][break]

He gave a tiny shake of his head, returning her chuckle quietly as he glanced toward the concessions. "I'm Ashley. Are you waiting for someone? I think it's just you and me so far, but I can make myself scarce if you're hoping for an empty theatre."


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@mattis

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[Deleted]

Mattie chuckled at his jokes at first, but shortly recognized they both were truly alone in the theatre. Not together, even, but in the sense that they had both come independently. No plans, no expectations, simply by themselves. "No, I'm not waiting - sort of a lone wolf," she tried her best not to cringe at her use of the overly dawned phrase, "what about yourself? I'm not intruding on any company, am I?" Ashley was kind - had even offered to clear out and let her have the theatre alone. Mattie assumed this was either an attempt to induce an invitation from her, or one to make himself less intimidating. After all, how could he expect a single, lone female to feel if it was only him and her in the theater? Awkwardly sitting either rows apart or right next to each other. Mattie smirked, "I don't mind sharing if you don't. Just no funny business, Mr. Ashley," she waved her finger, pretending to scold him, with one hand on her hip. She couldn't contain a small laugh, quickly bringing her hands to cover her mouth. Shaking her head, she quickly added, "Oh sorry - that played out much more amusingly in my imagination." Ashley Wolfe

[Ashley Wolfe]

[nospaces]

[attr="class","kflight"]The woman answered that she was alone, inquired whether he was as well, and then assured him she wouldn't mind his company. Then she lifted a finger to wag on the air between them, amending that there would be no 'funny business'. The joke was apparent in her stance as she planted a hand on her hip. Ashley took a half-step back, smile parting around a breathy laugh. "Woah, hey, what happened to chivalry?" He raised his hands before him, palms out, then folded one over his heart with an exaggeratedly-solemn nod. "I am a gentleman." [break][break]

He shook his head, let his arms fall back to his side, and then quirked a brow. "In fact, I'll buy the popcorn and drinks to prove it. If you tell me your name?" He shifted his weight and chanced a quick glance at his shoes, nose scrunching when he looked back up at her. "God, that does sound premeditated, doesn't it?" [break][break]

His brow furrowed and he quickly lifted a hand to smother across his face, wiping his expression clean and replacing it with something imploring and somewhat embarrassed. "I promise this isn't some weird-guy ploy of mine. Going to a romance movie by myself to pick up women." He snorted, tipping his head back with a sneaking grin. "Though I suppose that's exactly what I'd say if I was, huh? But then I'd probably be better at the games if I do this often."


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@mattis

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