[IC Scene] Extreme Bubble Gum Tricks

[zander_holt]

Leaving Zander to his own devices often led to bizarre taxidermy creations, or other equally deranged hobbies. This evening, he’d become enamored with a YouTube video entitled Extreme Bubble Gum Tricks, and the sudden overwhelming desire to one-up all of those tricks overtook him

Comments

[shallow_impulse]

What the hell was Zander on? Seriously. Any given day the headcase of a vampire might show up demanding the most bizarre things and much of the time he only rolled his eyes but there were moments when he just sat there blinking and trying to find some logic in the madness. There was none, clearly, as he stared that bag down from his spot settled into the corner of the couch. Surrounded by a few fashion magazines and ignoring the world otherwise, Devin had been attempting to find some peace and quiet while the vampire was out and about annoying other people

[zander_holt]

Sense of humor? Psh, this was serious; Zander was dead-set on doing something absolutely magnificent with this gum… just as soon as Devin finished chewing it all.

And of course he expected Devin to comply; Devin was his to command, after all. That very fact made Zander’s ego swell, because he was the big scary vampire and Devin couldn’t help but bend to him charms. Or… something like that. Sure, he could have forced Devin to follow his orders with physical violence, but he often didn’t find that necessary. In the time it took to beat the other man into submission, Devin could have chewed… you know, probably five or six pieces of gum. There was no time to waste drawing blood right now.

Besides, physical violence was only reserved for special occasions with his ghoul.

“Come on, the sooner you chew all these, the sooner you can get back to…” He trailed off, flailing a hand toward Devin’s magazines. “...whatever boring thing you’re doing there.”

And just in case Devin did need a bit of a threat for encouragement, Zander reached

[shallow_impulse]

"I could set you on fire in your sleep," he countered in regards to the comment about his hair with a drop of his gaze back to the magazine as he turned to the next page; Zander could threaten all he liked but Devin was hardly the sort to be bullied around. Funny how that worked; the vampire had such high expectations and Devin stubbornly dashed them time and time again

[zander_holt]

Why did everyone have to be so difficult tonight?! First that woman at the convenience store, and now Devin; the whole universe seemed to want to keep him from having any fun! Why was the afterlife so unfair?

“Gum can’t make you fat, Devin,” Zander replied matter-of-factly, as if talking to some slow, stupid child. “And if it’s zits you’re worried about, I can just cut them off and sew your face back up. I’m practically a surgeon.” True, animals were his area of expertise, but he wasn’t above dabbling in human experiments. If only such things were as accepted in society as taxidermy was.

But this colorful exchange wasn’t getting this gum chewed any faster; clearly Devin needed even more encouragement to get to work.

Zander shifted to straddle his ghoul’s legs on the couch so Devin wouldn’t be able to try to escape, and he held one piece of unwrapped gum menacingly in front of Devin’s lips. “Open up.”

[shallow_impulse]

"Can you prove it won't? No? Well, in theory shoes can't make you ugly either but who in their right mind would sleep with someone wearing Crocs?" The magazine was lowered for emphasis as he offered Zander a flat look to go along with the words. "You may think some things are logically true but that doesn't mean they are

[zander_holt]

The longer Devin talked, the more impatient Zander became, before he finally heaved the most over-dramatic sigh he could manage and rolled his eyes heavenward. He didn’t have time for explanations, only a few hours were left until sunrise; he had to carry out his fantastical gum plans soon before the sun came up and he was forced to call it quits for the day - didn’t Devin understand that? Why did he insist on pushing the vampire’s so-easy-to-press buttons

[shallow_impulse]

"You were on a lot of medication when you were alive, weren't you

[zander_holt]

Zander’s impatience faded away as Devin took that first piece of gum in his mouth - finally! His excitement was renewed, and he couldn’t wait carry out his bizzare bubble gum plans.

“It’s true, vampires can’t chew gum. It’s a damn shame, isn’t it?” Zander replied, trying and probably failing to sound genuine. Yeah, he could have chewed it, but just the smell turned his stomach; he knew the taste would do just the same. So of course forcing it in Devin’s mouth was the best alternative.

Hmm, sugar, diabetes, all of this sounded like real human-style problems that Zander usually didn’t pay any mind to. But Devin seemed concerned, at least enough to bring it up a few times, so Zander took back that bag of gum long enough to flip it over, examining the nutritional information printed on the back

“It’s only five grams of sugar per piece, it’s fine,” Zander replied, sounding altogether unconcerned because there were only twenty pieces of gum in the bag. One hundred grams of sugar, that was like… practically nothing, right? “Look, zero

[shallow_impulse]

"You're a little transparent when you lie, Casper." Devin retorted with a bored tone, he had no doubt it was more than Zander just didn't want to do it himself than anything biology held him back from. And chewing gum was one of the stranger demands the vampire had made but it was one of the least harmful as well so the night probably wasn't going to turn into a disaster over just that

[zander_holt]

Oh no, Zander could never give up the internet - there were far too many shiny things online to keep him occupied when he wasn’t working. From crazy YouTube videos to horrid snuff films on Tor, there was no limit to the entertainment Zander found from the web. Devin should thank the internet, really; without it, Zander would bother him way more frequently to relieve boredom.

“What thing? Drop dead?” Zander replied, playing dumb - or at least trying. The obnoxious cheshire grin on his face sort of ruined any seriousness he was trying for. “Oh, I forgot to give you food money, didn’t I? You should have told me the fridge was empty, I never look in there!”

...He was insufferable, wasn’t he? But jokes aside, he knew he couldn’t wait too long; he’d heard a horror story about one of his brother’s ghouls going real crazy from being blood-starved, and getting mauled by Devin was something Zander really wanted to avoid

[shallow_impulse]

"You're going to chewing your damn gum by yourself very shortly." He retorted with a stubborn set to his jaw, refusing to move it again. "Don't play dumb, you're going to make me believe it's true, don't tempt me."
Devin sat there with that flat expression while Zander stared him down; he knew damn well what happened when he had to wait too long and the sickness that went with it.

The most miserable feeling he'd ever dealt with in his life and when he started to feel that misery there was little he wouldn't do to avoid it; that was unfair and there was nothing he could do about it other than try to kick Zander into giving him that blood before it got too dire.
Mostly because the vampire was equal parts sadistic and lacking in attention span so it was a mix of the two that made him forgetful about those things.

"Oh, I can, yes; but I don't think I'm really in the mood to."

[zander_holt]

At the rate Devin was chewing - or his lack of chewing now, much to Zander’s frustration - this gum was never going to be free of that horrid taste before sun-up later on. Ugh, Devin was supposed to be his obedient slave, wasn’t that how this was arrangement should have worked?! Zander huffed out another dramatic sigh, reached down to snag both of Devin’s wrists and pinned them back hard against the couch on either side of his shoulders. If his ghoul wouldn’t listen to verbal commands, maybe forcing his way even further into his physical space would make his demands all the more clear.

“It doesn’t matter what you’re in the mood to do, only what I’m in the mood to do,” he reminded, equally stubborn as Devin.

Of course he wouldn’t outright give in to Devin, but he offered up the potential for a reward to see if that would hurry him up. “If you’re a good boy, just maybe I’ll give you what you want. When you’re done chewing, of course.” Another deviant smirk, this time followed with a slow bite of his own bottom lip, one of his fangs

[shallow_impulse]

Meh. Everything was a battle with Zander and the vampire always thought he had the upper hand; funny how seldom that was true...in Devin's opinion at least. But at that moment it was a bit tipped in Zanderr's favor, true, once those hands snapped around his wrists and pushed them to the surface behind him

[zander_holt]

Victory! Smug, Zander took his ghoul’s words as a win for himself, but at the same time… he didn’t exactly trust Devin not to act out. Oh no, he wasn’t just going to give Devin free reign of his hands back, not after he’d been such a pain in the ass already.

“Last I checked, you don’t need your hands to chew gum,” Zander pointed out, a bit mockingly. He drug Devin’s wrists away from the couch and crossed them against the front of Devin’s chest instead, holding them in place there with one palm. It gave him a weaker grip on his ghoul’s wrists, but this way he was allowed to reach down for another piece of gum himself with the intent to shove it between Devin’s lips.

...but he stopped just out of reach as a wave of suspicion hit him. Devin might try to bite his fingers or something, wouldn’t he? That’s just like something he’d do!

“Don’t you try anything,” he warned with narrowed eyes.

[shallow_impulse]

He glared at Zander for the comment, shifting some to protest the moment, narrowing his eyes right back at the vampire and shooting him an annoyed look after. He might have been able to pull his hands free if he really tried, but then he would have to deal with Zander complaining or getting irritated.
There was a thin line to push, as tempting as it was, when it came to the vampire. Zander was by no means stable and when his mood hit too badly he got violent, and not the sort of amusing violent that Devin had a sick little interest in himself either.

"Try what? Afraid I might bite you?" His eyebrows lifted with the words, a smug hint to his expression. "You really want to put your fingers in my mouth?"
Clearly Zander was debating that himself, and oh how he enjoyed stirring things up and pushing some of those buttons.

[zander_holt]

Zander gave a tiny snort at Devin’s first question. Him? Afraid? Please!

“I’ll put my fingers anywhere I want,” came his defiant reply… but despite his words, he didn’t move his hand any closer. Any other night, maybe he’d have shoved his fingers up in Devin’s mouth anyway, but this evening he’d already annoyed his ghoul far too much. Devin might actually bite him if he had the chance, and Zander wanted to protect his precious fingers if possible.

He’d just have to improvise a different solution.

Careful not to let that piece of gum touch his tongue because of just how horrid it was taste, Zander held it instead between his teeth, then tilted his face forward so Devin would be able to take it out with his own lips.

This way, if Devin bit him, he’d be close enough to bite right back, and he’d make it hurt.