They’re just loose ideas, huh.
Uh-huh…
Can you talk about something that hasn’t happened?
How?
I mean, can we really tell what this is about if it’s never been presented before?
Last time we got it, right?
I always feel like it’s not enough.
The problem is that when we say it, it sounds pretentious.
Ha!
Uh-huh?
I mean, can you be honest? Really honest, like saying: “They invited me a few weeks ago, and I had to come up with something on the spot.”
…
I’m not talking about the outcome, but about finding something.
Hey, isn’t this turning into Juan Gabriel interviewing his alter ego?
Our home, I mean homes.
The important thing—did you know that a vampire has to be invited in to enter a house?
Yeah, a vampire can’t come into your house without an invitation, but I’ve also heard you can uninvite them. At least, that’s how it worked in True Blood.
What invitations do you immediately say no to?
Turning down an invitation multiple times is seen as rude, but at the same time, there are so many stories—especially in Greek mythology—where the guest ends up in a bad situation. Or they get fed human flesh… those kinds of things. Better not to trust too much.
Do you accept invitations from strangers?
Strangers?
Imagine it’s a friend of a friend.
Mmm… depends on how well I vibe with them, honestly. But why not?
You travel to another country, and your friend hooks you up with another friend…
Are they hosting you?
For a night, maybe two. And then it turns into a nightmare when you realize how they really think and their personal habits.
But you’re a guest. You’re only there for a few days, so you just deal with it, right?
I thought you were the friend of the friend who agreed to host someone.
Oh, now I get it. Well, you never really know the people around you, I guess.
That actually happened to some friends.
Living with someone isn’t the same as just hanging out. Sharing your personal space—your room, your living room, your bathroom—is different.
In Alien, the little eggs kind of invite you to get closer, right? So many traps. Like carnivorous plants that use their scent to lure insects in and eat them.
It’s a predatory tactic, I suppose.
Like putting on perfume to eat someone?
Like a date gone wrong—or very wrong. I think about that sometimes.
Ah…
Like Nosferatu with Thomas Hutter.
Go on.
He invites him to his castle to sign a contract that will be really beneficial for Thomas—Nosferatu is buying a property. When Thomas arrives, he has to accept the host’s strange behaviors. But the unsettling part is when he feels like he’s being seduced—by the vampire and the castle itself.
So much drama.
And seduction…
Well, in any case, there are also special invitations, the interesting ones. The ones that take you to unexpected places.
Yeah, totally. We got way too dark. It is nice when someone invites you over for a meal, though. When they cook for you. And you bring dessert, haha.
Or like when they “invite you to leave.”
Haha, yeah, I try to avoid that happening to me. But I’ve also been on the other side—trying to find a polite way to “invite” someone else to leave. Some people just don’t know when it’s time to go.
It also feels good when you get uninvited to something you only agreed to out of obligation.
Or when you invited someone and later regretted making those plans.
Or when your guest invites someone else, and you feel like you have to say yes.
Or when you get invited somewhere and only know one person, and you don’t know what to do.
Or when the person who invited you arrives late.
Or when you just got there and already want to leave—but you wait a little because leaving right away would be rude.
I actually did that once. Left a party where I didn’t know anyone, the drinks were ridiculously expensive, and no one was dancing. The girl who invited me got mad.
Remember that time we arrived at a house party a little late, and there was no one there except this guy from the house who seemed unaware of the event? He let us in but just led us to an empty rooftop.
Yeah, he opened the door with a real “what are you doing here” face.
Better not to invite at all.
If that guy is going, I’m not.
Who’s coming?
I’ll let you know if I can make it.
Ugh, I already put on my pajamas.
It’s like we’re not allowed to just say, “No, I don’t feel like it.”
Tonight, I’d rather stay home.
Tonight, I’m staying in, watching Big fish eats little fish.
Tonight, I feel like going to the movies alone.
I used to need someone to invite me to the movies to go. I guess that’s what being an adult is.
When you invite, do you pay?
Have you ever gone somewhere uninvited? I once sneaked onto a boat where there was a play in the basement.
In the basement of a boat? When you invite, do you pay?
It’s not the same to invite someone to eat as to say, “Today, it’s on me.”
I invite you to come.
Do you think anyone has made it this far?
Is writing an invitation to read?
When someone invites you, do you feel obligated?
Imagine your ghost father appears before you and invites you to avenge his death—would you feel obligated?
Have you ever been invited to dance and said, “I don’t know how,” only for them to say, “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you,” and it actually went well?
Yes. Have you ever been invited to your mother’s wedding—to your uncle, who secretly murdered your father?
No. Have you ever been invited to your best friend’s wedding, even though you’re in love with them?
Yes, but I lied. I said I was too busy to go. Have you ever been invited to try a new product?
Yeah, I had to try this drink that was definitely not going to succeed in the market. Have you ever been invited to a Halloween costume party where everyone was sexy, and you dressed as a real monster—because it’s Halloween?
I don’t like dressing up, and I don’t like costume parties. Have you ever been invited and uninvited to a date on the same day?
Yes, definitely, multiple times. Have you ever been invited to eat something you don’t like?
Yes, and I lied, saying I had just eaten so I wouldn’t have to eat too much. Have you ever been invited to exhibit your art?
Yes, that feels nice.
When you go to a museum, it feels like everything is an invitation, right? One time I went with a friend of some friends, and he started touching a sculpture at the Tamayo Museum. I was so embarrassed.
Some people just shouldn’t be invited.
I invite you to leave this conversation.
Just like that?
More like—up to here.
words by AA
