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 Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2025 1:53 am
Lilitu Hi’skaryotaEven after a few months on Earth, Lilitu didn’t entirely feel like he understood very much of Earth’s people or culture. He supposed that made sense, considering how many different peoples and cultures called this world home. So many things existed to be learned, and there was hardly enough time to cram all of them in, especially when one was, like Lilitu, still learning one of the many languages.
Whatever work he and Lex had done on making the house they’d claimed as livable as it could be, going out without human money was……difficult, when so many of the different things happening out in Destiny City charged admission fees or came with an expectation that someone would spend money while attending. The Star Festival hadn’t been like that—Lilitu had enjoyed and appreciated that fact, all the parks full of so many activities and gatherings that hadn’t cost anything to attend—but so many other things in town did. And it was difficult to justify spending money on silly indulgences when they came into it pretty sporadically. They needed to save wherever they could.
They’d need to get help from a Mauvian about all of this, Lilitu thought. Human glamours helped him and Lex to get by when they went out while powered down, but human jobs felt like they were……pretty important. That was how humans got their money, and apparently, one needed a lot of paperwork proving one’s citizenship status and personal background to get those. Needing time for things to settle after the Calamitous Hollow had made sense, but things felt quite stable, now. The sooner he and Lex could find themselves some Mauvian assistance, the better.
In the meantime, though, something was going on today that wouldn’t cost money.
As he and Lex made their way into the theatre, Lilitu let himself look around and drink in all of this around them. He kept his fingers entangled with Lex’s and stuck close to his side, increasingly accustomed to having him back but still not wanting to let himself wander too far from his migadye. Mostly, that came from the simple rationale “But Lex’s hand is right here and I want to hold it……and Lex himself is right here, and I want to be close to him.” Some of it, though, was Lilitu thinking strategically. Somebody might have considered the contents of his shoulder-bag contraband. Better to distract them from the bag by making them want to look away from Lilitu and Lex being so physically close.
It didn’t seem right to Lilitu, acting like someone couldn’t bring their own snacks with them. But that didn’t mean he and Lex would be left well alone. Maybe admission to these “boy band auditions” didn’t cost any money, but there wasn’t any guarantee that sustenance once inside would also come free. Looking around at the various stalls and one specific place where people seemed to go for snacks, Lilitu got the sense that he’d been correct in thinking so.
But that was okay—at least, as long as nobody decided to take issue with the contents of Lilitu’s bag. One of the parks near their place had a community garden, and plenty of places around here had seeds that lined up with what Lilitu had read at the library about good planting seasons around here. He had to be careful about how much he harvested at any time, since he and Lex could only do so much to store the fresh vegetables at home. The green beans, cucumbers, and zucchini slices Lilitu had with him, he’d harvested, cleaned up, sliced, and packed this morning. He also had some snacks that Lex would enjoy more (which had cost some money at the 7-11, but food was non-optional and therefore okay to spend money on).
When they found their way to some seats, Lilitu put his head on Lex’s shoulder.
“Whenever you want a snack? I got you some of those beef jerkies,” he whispered, nuzzling at Lex gently just because Lex was there to be nuzzled at. “They had a discount if you got so many of them, so there’s the original flavor, teriyaki, and barbecue to pick from. And we have a bag of popcorn to share.”
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2025 5:11 pm
Malory MedrautThe pianoman's skills were competitive enough to offset his declaration. In the end, Malory generously deemed him a talented amateur. Good, but not ready for much more than this. Then came to the much more important conclusion, "Inner thigh." It looked like a nice place to rest. Still, he gave Eles's hair a pointed little tug, the waves of it curling comfortably between his knuckles. The next boy who came on stage was more than in stage, he was on. Which wasn't a bad trait for an entertainer, but it was dialed up way too high. But then again, it had to be high to balance out the actual lack of talent. "This is why your boss told you to go blonde." Malory murmured, grabbing a single piece of popcorn to n** at in tiny bites. "He's already some kind of act. Short form comedy and skits maybe. Influencer. Onlyfans. Definitely needs lots of attention, probably constantly." Giving a quiet hum, he added, "Meth addict in a one-sided love affair with a married man. If Gerald won't love him, then everybody must love him." Then next boy on stage prompted an mildly enthusiastic, "Oh, here comes the Black Parade." After a pause, he added slowly, "I think I recognize him." Shifting the make up, the clothes, sideways took some focus and intentional lack of focus, like a seeing eye puzzle. It was the dancing that really nailed it home, though. "Oh, it's Dorian Gay. How cute of him!"
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2025 5:27 pm
Eles oi EkthrónismenoiEles scoffed. "Well ********." He couldn't tell if he was amused or legitimately offended. Maybe a bit of both. Yes, both enough that he had to double-take at his boy, as if he could discern whether Malory was serious or ******** you both, then," Eles pouted as he righted himself in his seat. Popping a few pieces of popcorn into his mouth petulantly, he added, "at least I'll make a ******** of money in the porn industry." He had talent enough for that. Or maybe OnlyFans. Or some old-fashioned seamstress work. And he could probably get Malory to vouch for him, that was kind of like advertising.
As Eles embittered himself about his work prospects, he watched one performer finish and another join the stage. While Malory may have known him, Eles didn't recognize the boy. Which was, perhaps, surprising for how much of Destiny City's gay male population that Eles had slept through thus far. But he was cute, he made an effort, and most curiously of all,
And for this, Eles had to lean over again, however briefly,
"He looks a bit like a Negaverse agent."
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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2025 8:56 pm
Elior Abulafia"Boy band open auditions" was probably the silliest thing Elior could think of taking time out of his day to spectate. But that was the thing, wasn't it? It was silly. It was fun. It was something they could both enjoy in various ways without having to stress about the million things that existed to stress about of late.
It was a chance to put on some nice, artfully ripped skinny jeans and a cute black cold shoulder top, do up his hair, and go to the newly renovated Starbright Theater with his boyfriend so they could catch a show--even if it was a sort of unique show.
The display of photocards felt particularly silly--but Kiyoshi was right, it was smart free advertising. He picked up one of a different blond twink, posed next to a rosebush, sitting sideways on a garden retaining wall with one leg hanging over the side and staring, contemplatively, at a single rose in his hand. Whoever was styling him had even gone so far as to take all that long, pretty hair and braid roses into it.
The whole thing certainly hit that Tragic Gay Lewk, much like his bandmate's blatant Oscar Wilde references.
"Meanwhile, we have his matching blond wondering either when his husband will return from the war or when his husband will leave for the war so he can return to seducing the gardener," he said, tilting his own card towards Kiyoshi. "Honestly, the vibes are thoroughly dramatic, so you can't fault the presentation."
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2025 12:10 am
Lex WystenThere was something to be said for Experiencing the Local Culture. Lex had always liked learning about other worlds, and he'd sort of done some work to learn about Earth culture since arriving, but he had to admit that he hadn't really done the best job of it. His arrival hadn't exactly been planned, and for a long time, all he'd been doing was surviving, trying to get by on what little he could learn by distant observation.
The real problem was that he always felt so out of place, like any misstep might cost him. Perhaps that was old paranoias rearing up; years of being a political hostage had certainly led to him monitoring his own behavior to a degree that was...it had been necessary, if admittedly thoroughly unhealthy. He hadn't enjoyed the experience of having to watch his every movement, and moving around in his human glamor felt like that, all over again.
Especially given that the bits of interaction with ordinary Earth humans he'd had had been, well. Interesting, one way or the other. Usually not positively so. He thought sometimes of the poor shopkeeper he and Grieve had barged in on, together, and wondered if the poor man was still dealing with strange occurrences and Grieve, Happening To People.
He felt more like he could do things, now, though--now that he was less focused on just surviving, on hoping that he made it through another day and didn't end up thrown out of the house he had slowly been repairing. The house that, the longer he was there, especially now that Lilitu was with him and helping him build it out, felt more and more like a home.
They really ought to get some more Mauviasn assistance. He'd asked so much of Cuan Oilean, and she had her own Senshi to look after, but surely there were other Guardian Cats in the city who could help them out.
And all of that was secondary, anyway, at least in relation to what they were doing. There was a theater show, of some kind--auditions for something or other, open to the public--and frankly, Lex had missed entertainment. And maybe sitting throguh whatever this was would give them some more insight into what the people of Earth did for fun.
And[, unlike most things on this planet, including food, lodging, and everything else that one needed to live, it didn't cost money. Sure, Lex had some, enough to get by, thanks to rifling through the wallets of energy draining victims, but it wasn't enough to do anything fancy. (Which was too bad, because Lex wanted to take Lilitu somewhere nice, now that they were settled in the aftermath of the Calamitous Hollow's descent and everything surrounding it. He'd just...have to find a way to save.)
They looked, he hoped, like any ordinary human couple on what people here called a "date," a flirting-courting ritual of sorts, holding hands and pressed together and whispering to each other. Nothing to see here. Certainly not two aliens finding themselves seats in a rather nice theater.
"Always so thoughtful," he said, voice soft, and he pressed a kiss to Lilitu's temple. "I'll let you know if I feel snackish. Let's sit down, for now, yes? Middle of the theater, I think." To stay as under the radar as possible. Both for Technical Outside Food reasons, since apparently some theaters here looked down on that, and for Staying Inconspicuous Generally reasons.
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2025 7:05 pm
Malory MedrautMalory gave his boy's hair a comforting little pat in confirmation of his future success, then fell into just quietly combing his fingers through it as the performances went on. Dorian was really giving a nice goth go, and of all the contestants so far, was the one that had Malory's non-existent vote. "Wouldn't it be funny," he said in a low, close whisper meant only for Eles's ears, "...if they had a marching band? Not even to go out and drain, murder, and set fires. Just a whole marching band, drumming it up for morale." He pictured the Chaos Queen twirling a baton, and sighed but whatever he was about to say next was cut short. Suddenly, he was gripping Eles's forearm and sitting up straight in his seat. The boy who went next was tall. And lean but with muscles on display with his shorts and black crop top, the leather jacket only highlighting what was on view. He looked excited, innocent, and absolutely delicious. Someone Malory might like to drag into the mud and smear with playful, dirty fingers. Wait, from Frozen? From Frozen 2.Sitting back in his seat with a huff, Malory tried to just enjoy the view.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2025 3:03 pm
Alexander OrtizLovely's many defenses seemed to hit a wall when it came to Alexander, whose resting happy face either didn't register a resting b***h face or just didn't acknowledge them. That smile just carried on through all the glaring and silence, until the response came. "Exactly!" He all but yells when Lovely remarks on how stupid it would be to pick a girl. "But that's my concern. I feel like it's always corporations that push for that kind of thing because they're so far behind, and then they make bands do dumb s**t like that."He laughed, shaking his head as he looks back to the stage, eyeing the 'Pretty Boy' of the moment. "Yeah, and adding in a girl would really throw the dynamic of pretty too much.""Out of the boys though, who do you think has the most of a shot?"Sunshine Alouette So sorry for the late response, Gaia hates telling me when I get tagged XD
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2025 4:37 pm
Eles oi EkthrónismenoiEles's attention remained on the performances, even if he wasn't listening overly much. Even if his focus was on the boy next to him, on the fingers in his hair, on the warming ease by which he felt he blended into the audience.
"Maybe you should pitch the idea," he murmured back, a smile lingering. Let his boy win his way into the Negaverse's good graces.
His eyes drifted back to Malory, who captured his attention more easily than the rest, until that boy gripped him like a beleaguered arm rest in the midst of an acclaimed horror movie. Immediately his thoughts returned to the stage, and he searched it for signs of who bought his boy's formal recognition. Another of the musclebound ones! Eles wished he could have had a body like that. Such a sordid shame that he weighed less than his boy.
But, he supposed, it was a much bigger shame that this auditioner lost Malory's interest just as quickly as he had gained it. Not that Eles really understood why; the song was rather catchy.
Eles hummed before he spoke, his fingers splaying soft over Malory's hand. "If you were up on that stage, what would you wear? What would you sing?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2025 5:10 pm
Malory MedrautOh...the crying was nice. Expression clearing to something a bit more satisfied with this Better Todd, Malory returned his attention to the boy at his side with considering look. "It'd depend on who I'd want to be, but if I knew you were here..." Which meant, If I were going to be slightly more honest."I'd go for the dark one. As you said, there's a lack of broody goth sort, and while that's not really a core persona, it's not unknown for this type of group." The smile quirked up for a moment, flashing a brief bit of dimple. "And it'd be...something from Aesop Rock. It'd be a flex and there's always room for someone who can rap." The next up on the stage did pick a darker tune, and it stood out nicely. The choreography was more emotion than technical skill, but it was intentional, which spoke of genuine thought and practice. And he stayed on beat, so rather than overdone and awkward, he managed to make it a true addition to his singing. "Not bad."
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2025 8:40 pm
Eventually, the end of the auditions came. The last audition was guided offstage house lights went down, the audience was gently hustled out, and the band got to stand up from their seats. Now, the only question left was....who would be the chosen fifth? Quote: The event is officially closed! Thank you to everyone who participated! heart
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