Nighttime dramz in IC
So the Masquerade was loads of fun but this post is about the part afterwards that wasn't.
Here is what occurred:
I'd been nodding off on account of sleep dep + whiskey + all the fudz, so we decided it was time to depart. Joe was carrying the hummus and pesto dip we'd brought, as well as his gas mask; I had on my plague doctor mask because I didn't want to risk dropping/squishing it (I made it out of Model Magic and didn't give it nearly enough time to dry).
Laura had had a bit more to drink than the rest of us, and after a bit of debate concerning whether or not she was fit to drive home, she reached the compromise of allowing Sam to walk her to her car. We were parked on the same street but they crossed before we did.
Enter two college-aged dudes walking up the sidewalk Joe and I were walking down. One of them started chanting, "Suck his dick! Suck his dick!" at Laura.
Joe asked, "Do you have your knife?"
Regretfully said I, "No."
Then we drew even with the pair of dudes, and the noisy one yelled to me, "I like your mask. I want to suck on it."
Having the mental age of a junior high schooler, I got in his face as best as I was able for being a foot too short and said, "Yeah? You like that?"
I don't quite remember if I had my fist to his belly at this point or a little later. Either way, we were toe-to-toe and he didn't notice.
But he said, "Yeah," and tweaked the v. prominent nose of said mask. I think it was then that I sort of tapped him with my fist to let him know that yes, boy, I could have ripped your balls off during this exchange. He looked down and said somewhat incredulously, "What, really?"
This was when things got a little scuffley. At the time I thought he was getting grabby in a skeezy fashion, but looking back on it, I'm pretty sure he was just play-punching at me. But it made Joe shout "Hey!" and jump between us. I noticed the hummus and pesto dip hit the ground and assumed the second guy had shoved Joe, but he told me later that he'd dropped them to free up his hands.
I guess Joe patted the guy's shoulder and said, "Just don't," but I was kind of tunnel-visioning and didn't notice.
I yanked off my mask because I was extremely concerned about it getting smushed in the altercation (priorities, I has them). There was a moment where we just stared at each other before I said very quietly, "Piss off." I didn't feel angry but maybe my expression was.
The guy immediately backed off and reportedly said to Joe, "We were just horsing around." (I didn't hear that part.) He had been grinning but his face got serious when he saw mine.
I said, "Just turn around and walk away. Turn around. Walk away." I didn't hear him apologize, but Joe says he did.
Then we crossed the street to Joe's car, and I waved to Sam and Laura to show that we were okay.
The scary part is how completely I misjudged the situation to be way more serious than it was. I thought I was being clear-headed because I managed to run through my options pretty logically and rapidly (He's too tall to jack in the face; I could punch him in the stomach but he looks like he works out. I could grab his junk and twist instead and I should kick his knee out first because he has a longer reach until finally NAY NAY I SHALL BE NOBLE AND DEFUSE THE SITUATION), but after a certain point I was blocking out everything important (blatant verbal cues that the guy did not actually want to fight). Also I had no idea what his friend was doing during all of this.
In hindsight, I think the guy (who, while obnoxious, uncouth, and full of aggressively heteronormative assumptions, hadn't been horrifying and had never even actually hit me) thought I was being playful, and realized only after I took off the mask that I was not amused, and was in fact utterly misconstruing everything ever. (And possibly didn't realize until then that I was female.) He didn't even pinch the Model Magic hard enough to leave a mark. I almost feel bad that I didn't acknowledge/accept the apology (oh god I am such a midwesterner), except he was being douchey to begin with, so bleh.
Anyway, I guess the moral of the story is:
I need to learn how to use my words
and
Muscleheads need to learn how to use nicer words if they feel compelled to bellow at strangers on the street at night.
Here is what occurred:
I'd been nodding off on account of sleep dep + whiskey + all the fudz, so we decided it was time to depart. Joe was carrying the hummus and pesto dip we'd brought, as well as his gas mask; I had on my plague doctor mask because I didn't want to risk dropping/squishing it (I made it out of Model Magic and didn't give it nearly enough time to dry).
Laura had had a bit more to drink than the rest of us, and after a bit of debate concerning whether or not she was fit to drive home, she reached the compromise of allowing Sam to walk her to her car. We were parked on the same street but they crossed before we did.
Enter two college-aged dudes walking up the sidewalk Joe and I were walking down. One of them started chanting, "Suck his dick! Suck his dick!" at Laura.
Joe asked, "Do you have your knife?"
Regretfully said I, "No."
Then we drew even with the pair of dudes, and the noisy one yelled to me, "I like your mask. I want to suck on it."
Having the mental age of a junior high schooler, I got in his face as best as I was able for being a foot too short and said, "Yeah? You like that?"
I don't quite remember if I had my fist to his belly at this point or a little later. Either way, we were toe-to-toe and he didn't notice.
But he said, "Yeah," and tweaked the v. prominent nose of said mask. I think it was then that I sort of tapped him with my fist to let him know that yes, boy, I could have ripped your balls off during this exchange. He looked down and said somewhat incredulously, "What, really?"
This was when things got a little scuffley. At the time I thought he was getting grabby in a skeezy fashion, but looking back on it, I'm pretty sure he was just play-punching at me. But it made Joe shout "Hey!" and jump between us. I noticed the hummus and pesto dip hit the ground and assumed the second guy had shoved Joe, but he told me later that he'd dropped them to free up his hands.
I guess Joe patted the guy's shoulder and said, "Just don't," but I was kind of tunnel-visioning and didn't notice.
I yanked off my mask because I was extremely concerned about it getting smushed in the altercation (priorities, I has them). There was a moment where we just stared at each other before I said very quietly, "Piss off." I didn't feel angry but maybe my expression was.
The guy immediately backed off and reportedly said to Joe, "We were just horsing around." (I didn't hear that part.) He had been grinning but his face got serious when he saw mine.
I said, "Just turn around and walk away. Turn around. Walk away." I didn't hear him apologize, but Joe says he did.
Then we crossed the street to Joe's car, and I waved to Sam and Laura to show that we were okay.
The scary part is how completely I misjudged the situation to be way more serious than it was. I thought I was being clear-headed because I managed to run through my options pretty logically and rapidly (He's too tall to jack in the face; I could punch him in the stomach but he looks like he works out. I could grab his junk and twist instead and I should kick his knee out first because he has a longer reach until finally NAY NAY I SHALL BE NOBLE AND DEFUSE THE SITUATION), but after a certain point I was blocking out everything important (blatant verbal cues that the guy did not actually want to fight). Also I had no idea what his friend was doing during all of this.
In hindsight, I think the guy (who, while obnoxious, uncouth, and full of aggressively heteronormative assumptions, hadn't been horrifying and had never even actually hit me) thought I was being playful, and realized only after I took off the mask that I was not amused, and was in fact utterly misconstruing everything ever. (And possibly didn't realize until then that I was female.) He didn't even pinch the Model Magic hard enough to leave a mark. I almost feel bad that I didn't acknowledge/accept the apology (oh god I am such a midwesterner), except he was being douchey to begin with, so bleh.
Anyway, I guess the moral of the story is:
I need to learn how to use my words
and
Muscleheads need to learn how to use nicer words if they feel compelled to bellow at strangers on the street at night.