the pinata unicorn tattoo story (a quest)

Chapter one (in which i reason with myself that unicorns are bad ass)

free pinata tattoos for cinco de mayo.

who could say no?

get a unicorn. red and gray and badass.

epic.

and it's free!

getting a unicorn pinata tattoo? stupid?

FUCK YOU.

PAYING for a unicorn tattoo- THAT would be stupid.

i stay home sick, and so am free to make plans.

devious plans.

dark plans.

about my tattoo!

smiley face!

me and jew boy depart for the tattoo parlor directly, and

have to go back for my wallet.

tattoo time!

Chapter 2 (in which i begin a journey)

it's raining.

it's sunny.

it's raining.

the tattoo place opens at two.

it's noon now.

we get hotdogs and coffee.

we talk about Judaism with the pastor/hot dog vendor.

inorite?

david has to go to work.

leaves me outside the tattoo place.

i wait, it's not too long- he's late by an hour.

they only did that last year.

he would still do it- maybe later, if an appointment doesn't show.

i go see hot tub time machine.

bad news, no tattoo today.

but i get a deal on the tattoo i WANT, once i have cash.

piñatas suck.

maturity? really? fuck.

he makes plans in his head,

tattoos, for sure, and raves.

who could live without raves?

nobody worth talking to.

but what was his PLAN?

have to get a job, or at least get money.

raves are so fucking expensive.

he strums on his guitar,

he doodles on some paper.

he writes.

he reads.

he thinks.

who needs an artist?

that's all he was ever going to be,

nothing more.

could a normal job fulfill him?

would he survive one?

he started thinking of ways to promote his new band.

he wrote a song.

he fell asleep to the radio.

flitterfic: suspense

he sits in the gazebo,

relaxing in the shade.

nervously staring at the phone.

why did i have to say three days?

would she remember him after three days?

was any of it really as profound as it all seemed?

probably not.

as was the way with this world,

his perception was usually inaccurate.

the phone shakes in his hand-

or his hand shakes around the phone.

and he punches the number.

some emo ringtone is blaring, the tension mounts-

your

call

has

been

forwarded

to

an

automatic

voicemail

machine.

he shoots himself.

call me back...

if you want to.

FlitterFlashback

she holds his head in her lap, he holds the microphone in his hand.

he's reciting lines, he's directing calisthenics. she kisses him between words.

she cries, he fidgets in her purple sweater. she looks at him with soulful eyes.

what's wrong, my love? she can only shake her head.

he repeats himself, tipping over the precipice of panicked tears.

i won't fight them, love, i'll do whatever they say.

he falls unreservedly to pieces.

they embrace, they dry, they writhe in the agonious, star-crossed beauty of

their everlasting, controversial love.

then he goes home

and ruins all of it.

flitterfuck.(recount of a dream)

her shoulders slam against the wall, their bodies pressed together,

their tongues are locked in a heady embrace. his knife slides under her garters,

setting her free, his hands tear at her clothing. the T-shirt splits under his fingers, she pops the buttons of his formal wear off, in one smooth motion. he enters her with no ceremony-

she gasps in surprise. he moans into her mouth as she swears in dark, dead, invented language.

with hunger and abandon, he thrusts again and again, as she takes his hair in handfuls and holds on for fear of death.

simple pleasure.

flitterfic 2: the reckoning (the saga in which our story arc begins)

CH 1 (in which we arrive at adulthood)

it's his birthday, and they're going to a rave.

they buy glowsticks, they get dressed.

they wait in line. for hours.

he worries because his friend has a fake ID.

will he get in?

his worries are washed away,

like a vomit-covered sidewalk hit with a pressure hose.

his fears are assuaged by the tumultuous cry:

SEANO! his friends made it after all.

hardstyle jumping, dubstep thumping.

BASS.

the girls are grinding and the lights are flashing, lasers blast the wall.

he's kissing and giving backrubs and taking people's glowsticks.

he mounts the top of the bouncy slide...

CH 2 (in which we learn that life is not exactly as simple as we once thought)

with a somersault, he slides down to the bottom, colliding headfirst-

with a group of ravers. rather than groan or complain, they embrace. they converse, and a compact girl catches his eye. she holds perfect, flawless eye contact.

with a somersault, he asks her name, colliding heartfirst-

with a girl he would know henceforth as shine.

she wants to live in the wilderness

he wants to live in the city.

she speaks in a subversive, context-heavy, musical tone,

rich with secret knowledge, enigmatic.

he babbles about school, among other things,

nothing worth mentioning to this girl.

they exchange numbers.

flitterfic

he crumples the note in his hand,

desperately and aggressively imposing

some kind of dominance, some kind of control,

over the words that have so injured him.

it doesn't work. the words still hurt,

and even they survive the warping and wrinkling-

they may not be whole after the tearing,

they may not survive the burning.

but as he sifts through the ashes on the McDonald's table,

where he turned the words to cinders,

he feels no respite. no freedom.

as he gets up to leave, he is followed by

the inexorably advancing lump in his throat.

"I LOVE YOU."