Music Has Always Been A Huge Part Of Jackie’s Life. It’s An Easy Way To Connect With People, Which

"just stop thinking about it" my brother in christ, if I could stop thinking about it I would

closed starter for reyna, @fram3s

location: around el carnaval de invierno

when rachel finally got the chance to visit the winter carnival, she wastes no time to drag reyna along with her. it would have been incomplete to go without her best friend anyways, and now that she's walking arm in arm with reyna, donning matching crochet snoods that she had learned how to make herself for the two of them, this almost feels nostalgic all over again. "so tell me, what do you want to do first?" she turns to reyna with a huge smile. "do you want to play one of those carnival games? or should we get something to eat?" she looks around for a moment, her eyes lighting up at the sight of her favorite ride. "oh, we should totally ride the ferris wheel too!" there are so many things to do around here, that rachel could feel her body shakes with excitement.

seeing how excited adem is about the deal, she couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction. “oh babes, i’m afraid you’re asking the wrong person about this.” jackie isn’t much of a cook, that much she could admit. “i don’t even know what to say to all that, but i’m surprised you didn’t know that some kids don’t like their veggies,” she teases. “i feel like that’s a phase every kid goes through at some point. did you not have that ever? have you always liked vegetables even as a kid?” there’s nothing wrong with it, of course, but she absolutely gets it why emine would dislike vegetables at her age. “i’ll say it’s a little tricky. just give it a try!”

for @valpostart where? el mercado

"they are having an incredible deal on garlic scapes." he tells the person closest to him, picking up one of them and inspecting it, "i've had them before, but never cooked with them," adem explains, voice going up an octave in excitement over the prospect of learning how to cook them, "i think you can make pesto out of them? or use them instead of scallions or asparagus? oh, or as a side?" he stops, humming, "emine is being really stubborn about green stuff lately, though. apparently eight-year-olds don't love vegetables. do you think i can stick these in butter or a cheese?"

as a fellow adrenaline junkie, she couldn’t really tell why rohan is even complaining about rollercoasters. sure, they might not be as challenging to some, but his complaint doesn’t even imply that, more so the fact that they are too much of a risk, whatever that means. “really, rohan? since when do you consider the risk and what potential harm it could bring before you do something? i thought you said you’re an adrenaline junkie,” she taunts, nudging him gently with her elbow. “i don’t know what’s your deal with rollercoasters, but they’re super fun. well, unless you’re scared,” and suddenly it hits her, “are you scared of rollercoasters, rohan?” no, it’s totally valid, even for someone who craves an adrenaline rush ⸻ jackie doesn’t want to assume things about him, but it does make sense that he might be. she just needs to hear it from him.

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closed starter for JACKIE ( @detruines ) location : la  carnaval  de  invierno,  some rollercoaster

-ˋˏ ‏‏‎ ‎꒰ ‏‏‎ ‎🐚 ‏‏‎ ‎꒱‏‏‎ ‎ ──‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎rollercoasters  are  not  really  rohan's  thing.  cliff  diving  and  swimming  with  sharks  and  sometimes  driving  a  little  too  fast  on  the  highways  ?  sure.  rollercoasters,  however  ?  rohan  stares  up  at  the  rickety  rails  with  his  hands  in  his  back  pockets,  half-squinting  with distaste towards  it.  " why  would  anyone  want  to  go  on  the  metal  death  trap  again  ?  "  he  questions,  turning  to  look  over  his  shoulder  at  jackie.  he's  not  sure  where  she  popped  up  from,  but  she's  here  now  (  much  to  rohan's  vague  chagrin.  )  "  like  i'm  all  for  an  adrenaline  rush  but  those  things  are  too  much  of  a  risk.  imagine  what  the  windchill  is  like  when  you're  up  that  high  and  going  that  fast  ?  i  saw  a  video  not  that  long  ago  of  a  whole  bunch  of  people  getting  stuck  upside  down  for  hours.  "  yes,  he's  aware  statistically,  he's  safer  on  the  rollercoaster  than  any  of  the  other  stuff  he  likes  doing.  doesn't  matter.  "  it  doesn't  even  sound  fun.  " 

“that’s right! you really shouldn’t miss breakfast. it’s the most important meal of the day,” rachel chirps, although she couldn’t say the same about the others. it’s easy to miss lunch or dinner when she gets too caught up with work sometimes, but she often makes it up with midnight snacks; that’s if she ever remembers to eat them. there is a bashful smile on her face when she heard rania, head shaking softly in response to her words. “oh come on, you said it just fine! at least you know what it means and how to use it. i gotta give you props for that,” she teases, listening attentively when rania talks about her kid. “thanks for the tip, mama. i think i’m good with french braids. might need to work on the fishtail and learn the others though.” it’s not like rachel is getting married nor getting kids anytime soon, but it’s nice to be prepared, right? a laugh escapes from her mouth. “sounds about right. anything else i need to know about having kids?”

"of course, have to be fueled up to take on the day." she takes a sip of her own coffee, grinning at the younger woman, "so good? wow. incredible, we're off to a great start." she reaches out and gives rachel's shoulder a friendly squeeze, "see? 'manifesting' sounds so much more normal coming out of your mouth." oh to be young and hip. rania agrees then, nodding, "you're right. self-care is important!" and something she neglects and is bad at, but that is not important right now, "mmm, i'm fine. sonia threw a fit over her hair this morning, but nothing a french braid couldn't fix." she snorts, teasing, "if you ever had kids? add different types of braiding to the list of things to know. a little french or fishtail can remedy almost anything. it's like me and a cup of coffee. healing, even."

although jackie is technically on a break right now, she still makes sure to do her daily workout at the local gym. it’s how she meets vanni in the first place; jackie appreciates his assistance whenever she comes in to do her sets and today is no different. focusing on her breath, she pushes the bar back to the starting position, only sitting up once vanni helps her rack the barbell. “alright thank you, coach,” she tells vanni, reaching for her bottle to drink some water. “can i get both? i feel like i deserve a free drink and a bouquet if we’re going for a pr. maybe even a special handwritten note from you while we’re at it,” she chuckles. putting down her water bottle, jackie starts stretching as she ponders over the thought. “how about you decide on the plate this time? i mean, you’ve seen me do this for a while so you probably know what’s my limit. what do you think, coach?”

who: vanni && jackie ! [ @detruines ] where: gimnasio o2 aire

he's spotting jackie while she does bench presses, watching her carefully from above and keeping an eye on every little detail. the last thing he wanted was for her to accidentally injure herself while just trying to get a good workout in. "come on, get it up. you got this. good shit, jackie." he's encouraging her, cheering her on to finish up her set. he helps her rack the barbell as soon as she's done and nods his head in approval. "alright rest for a minute before we do your last set. give yourself a little bit of a stretch and drink some water. you wanna try for a pr today? if you do it, i'll get you a free drink from blooms as a reward. or a bouquet if you want, either works. just tell me what plate you want me to load up." even though she hasn't even answered yet, vanni's already looking on to the rack of plates so that he could load up the bar.

closed starter for tobias, @fram3s

location: el carnaval de invierno, snowball fight

it’s almost criminal to not have a snowball fight at least once during the winter ⸻ maybe that’s just her opinion, but rachel is confident that most would agree with her. with excitement all over her face, her aim is set on a friend before she finally launches the ball. much to her horror, it somehow ends up hitting someone else who just happened to be in the way. “oh shoot, i’m so sorry,” the apology comes quick, almost like a reflex, as rachel rushes over to them. “that’s totally my bad! i wasn’t really looking before i-” and she really wasn’t, because if she did and saw tobias passing by, she would have hold herself back and wait until he’s gone. “i promise i wasn’t doing it on purpose,” you were just in the way, “sorry for getting in your way though. you can hit me back if you want?” rachel doesn’t even know why she said it, but it just sounds right, albeit the wavering tone. “i mean, just do it. that way we’ll be even, yeah?”

i dont want to look “pretty” i want to look otherworldly and vaguely threatening

although the night shifts at the hospital are getting easier to manage by now, rachel couldn’t deny that she still loses track of time now and then. having been a morning person for most of her life, she finds it weird to go bed at the time she usually wakes up and start her day when it’s already noon ⸻ it’s a routine that she’s slowly getting used to, and to avoid going out while she’s recovering from a night shift, she would usually opt to cook for lunch. rachel has always been the type to favor homemade food over anything else, but after staring at her almost empty fridge for a hot minute, she realizes that she might have forgotten to do grocery shopping that week. well, it’s not like it never happened before.

after much contemplation she decides to go out, thinks it would be a good idea to have a walk and eat outside for a change. rachel stops by plantas atlas on her way, something that she does out of habit since moving into the area. how could she not? it’s the only place she knows she could find felix, and despite her own stomach growling she couldn’t help but wonder if he has eaten, if he’s doing well at all. rachel doesn’t really expect he would emerge from the back door, just like the other times she’s come here, but there he is. she finally manages to catch felix at the right time and yet she freezes in her spot, unsure what to even say first.

“would you even pick up if i call first?” she asks, although she already knows that he wouldn’t. it’s why she chooses to linger around his plant shop instead; it would be harder to avoid her if they run into each other like this anyways. “i came here to see you,” she admits, tears welling up in her eyes. “i was just on my way to get lunch. have you eaten yet?“ 

( @detruines )

this is quickly becoming a habit; felix falling asleep at plantas atlas, whether it's over inventory or simply a bottle of something a little too strong for even his taste - his clothes rumpled from an unsteady sleep each morning as he tries to leave unnoticed, like some sort of late night call. it's not his fault that on most days - it's already dark by the time he gets out of the shop; it's not his fault that he's scared of - not the dark - but driving in it. it's one of those fears that grip him as hard as he grips the steering wheel, knuckles white with the anxiety. he probably couldn't drive, even if he wanted to; his body reacts too physically to the memories.

so he sleeps there, sometimes - so what? it's never been a problem before; nobody stops him out of concern, nobody checks his whereabouts. nobody disrupts his routine. but it's half - past noon, and he's slept in - and god, there's this crick in his neck that makes him feel like he's one second away from just being stuck at an angle, permanently; and he needs coffee. badly. so he slips out of the backroom, and out of plantas atlas - already open, already in full swing - in his wrinkly, day - before clothes with his head ducked down... and runs into no other than rachel. "oh - christ -" it's too late to turn back around; he's already lingering in the doorway for far too long than he personally likes. he hates people lingering in the doorways - it's either come in, or get out.

"- what are you doing here?" it comes out harsher than he expects it to - a combination of a bad night's sleep, and genuine surprise; caught off guard. "ever thought about fucking... calling first, sometime?"

the sudden nudge on her ankle makes rachel jump in her seat. if this was some other time she would have been upset that vanni almost gave her a heart attack (well, he still did though) on purpose, but once she manages to process what he just said, rachel shakes her head gently at him. “sorry about that,” she sighs. must be the lack of sleep i’m getting these days; somehow the words get stuck in her throat ⸻ it’s not her turn to tell him about her life updates yet, so she takes a small sip of her tea, hoping it would keep her stay focused this time. “what were you saying just now? i’m sorry i wasn’t listening- i mean, i did, but then i don't know what's gotten into me.” she offers him an apologetic smile. “can you tell me about it again? you said it’s an important life update.”

who: vanni && rachel ! [@detruines] where: little leaves

little leaves meant a lot to vanni for more reasons than them being blooms & coffee's competitor (if you see him sitting in little leaves, no you didn't). it was the place that vanni associated with being productive and work on whatever project he was working on and he had the person he was sitting across to thank that for. amongst all the places they had gone for him to be tutored, little leaves was his favorite. "¡che!" he nudges her ankle with his foot, a habit that he didn't seem to grow out of in all his years of knowing rachel. "the fuck are you looking at? you've been spacing out this whole time i've been trying to tell you about an important life update." he turns around in his seat and looks behind him to see if he can make out who or what rachel was looking at that was more important than him catching her up on his life.