Realistic or Modern &nbsp; 𝕃𝕀𝕄𝔼𝕃𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋

interactions

brinley, viva

tags

thatonegirl28

Ember could’ve defended herself any number of ways—Viva was certainly giving her the fuel she needed. The downside to making an enemy of a friend was that they knew which weak spots to target, what gaps of ego to aim for in order to reach maximum destruction.

The blonde’s head was swimming. She felt like she couldn’t breathe, drowning in a pool of betrayal all over again.

For Ember to insult Viva’s so-called family was one thing—everyone knew they were a mess—but Viva knew nothing about the Clairmonts. Not really. Sure, the tabloids had plenty to say about their group, but most of it was nothing more than speculation. They had worked hard to maintain their sparkling reputation throughout the years. Her parents may not have been perfect, but they still had careers, at least. Iris’ time on Miles to Go may have been defining to an extent, given that it was her first project, but it wasn’t the only thing she had done. Viva should’ve known that. Her mother would’ve gone on to do more, too, if not for Ember and Brinley’s unexpected arrival, and a part of Ember felt guilty for the abrupt pause she’d put in Iris’ life. Only recently had the woman pressed play once more, and if she was anything like her daughter, Ember couldn’t imagine how miserable she’d been in the meantime.

Did Viva’s words hold some truth, though? Had Iris been in her costars’ shadows?

Ember could relate to that, too.

You’re nothing compared to the others.

At least Casey could afford a primadonna lifestyle. As Ember’s gaze shifted down across Viva’s choice of wardrobe for a second time, she decided that was more than Celie could say.

You’re too shallow to amount to anything.

Ember did have a career. It may have been entirely due to family connections, but everyone had to start out somewhere; any job, no matter how big or small, was an achievement in the competitive realm of acting. Other girls her age looking to break into the business would’ve killed for such an opportunity.

And what had Viva achieved? Nothing.

Without your last name, you’d be a nobody. You have no real skill.

Yet, try as she might to fight the waves of negativity that flooded past her ears, sloshing inside her head and swallowing her brain whole, Ember’s defenses crumbled entirely at Viva’s last attack.

“She was kinda my aunt first too, by the way—sent me a baby gift when I was born and everything. Sucks that she couldn’t be more giving with you.”

Ember saw red. She didn’t notice the tear sliding down her flushed cheek as her arm reeled back, fist colliding with Viva’s face faster than the speed of light.

She could deal with being told she wasn’t good enough; it was nothing Ember hadn’t already been told before—by herself, no less. She could even handle her parents’ careers being questioned; a quick Google search would put an end to that. But to try to invalidate the one relationship in her life that felt as though it was founded on genuine care and understanding was an invitation for war, and Ember had accepted it with open arms before she could register what she was doing.

Words simply wouldn’t suffice anymore.

Ember’s hands clamped harshly around Viva’s shoulders, baby pink fingernails digging harshly into the girl’s skin as they both tumbled backwards. The gasps and murmurs among the crowd were deadened beneath the sound of shattering glass—both girls crashed into a table, meticulously-stacked stemware toppling to the ground amidst the scuffle, covering them in a downpour of wine and crystalline shards.

Viva needed to hurt just as bad as she did.

No, Ember had decided that Viva deserved worse, and she’d taken it upon herself to see that it was personally delivered.

Via express shipping, too.

thatonegirl28 · Jul 15, 2024

.
.
.
.

how she's feeling...

full of fury and ready to bite
what she's wearing...

white and blue floral
where she's at...

the gala
in the conversation...

brinley Winona , ember lvcid

Viva

Kinsey

Pain radiated through Viva’s head like a bell’s reverberating chime, starting where Ember’s fist made contact with her skin and echoing all the way to the back of her skull. What the hell?!

Of course, it made all the sense in the world that when she ran out of witty, bitter lies to bite back, she would resort to cheap physical blows. She really was her father’s daughter, wasn’t she. She just couldn’t stand to let Viva win even once, just once, could she? It was bad enough that Ember got to have the victory, and the sister, and the happily married parents, and the house, and the clothes, and the shoes, and the industry ties, and the fucking perfect stupid little life. No, she needed to win too, she needed to go even lower and drag Viva down with her.

Shiny, scarlett red blood began to cascade down over her lips, the sticky metallic taste coating the inside of her mouth, as it made its way down her chin and finally dripped down onto her white dress. Now just another thing that Ember had ruined with her selfish actions.

If Viva had been hot with anger before, she was now on fire. There was a sort of sick satisfaction sinking deep into her chest however, almost secretly joyful that her words had seemed to cut deep enough to actually enrage the vapid blonde. Or at least she would be if she wasn’t so distracted by the stuffy feeling arriving in her nose alongside the pain.

The satisfaction was a fleeting emotion that was quickly overshadowed by the seething rage. In a swift blur of motion Viva carried her hand across Ember’s face with a nasty ‘crack’ filling the air between them as her palm hit the other girl’s cheek.

Her hand was still buzzing and burning with pain when she felt polished claws digging into her flesh. There was a look in Ember’s eyes that said she wanted Viva dead, she returned the glance with a look of her own that said ”Bring it on.” She tried to fight against the force Ember came towards her with but she couldn’t keep her footing any longer.

The crash was spectacular, fine glassware that probably cost more than the stupid shoes on Ember’s stupid feet or the dress on Viva’s back were reduced to glimmering shards within seconds. Shards that were currently digging into Viva’s back as she struggled to squirm out of Ember’s grasp to no avail. The younger girl managed to straddle her at the waist and pin her to the floor.

By now both girls were growling like animals, rather fitting considering that people were beginning to stare like they were at a zoo. They may as well have been. The rumble in Viva’s throat was slowly evolving into more of a screech. She wanted to scratch her eyes out, she wanted to pull her hair out of her head, she wanted to knock the teeth out of her head, she wanted to kill Ember.

Viva thrashed under the suffocation of Ember and her cupcake wrapper dress, trying to grab hold of literally anything. A handful of her blonde curls, the straps of her dress, whatever she could wrap her fingers around that she could tug until it caused Ember either humiliation or pain, but both would be good too.

Preferred actually.

♡coded b

Winona · Jul 16, 2024

Romeo Marino

Talking with your dad about your girlfriend was... awkward, to say the least. And it was made even more awkward when it was with a girl that you were kind of... questionably into. Rowan was nice enough, but...

Ehh, serious feelings for a girlfriend probably came later on in the relationship. That's what he'd told himself in the past, anyway, and sure, it never happened that way, but maybe it was just because girls in the past hadn't been right.

(Hard to find when you messed around with girls like Claudia, though.)

"Well, Romeo, if you hang with Scarlett, try not to slip up when she sprays you with a million questions." His dad continued. "Her mother has always been the best of the best journalists, and trust me, she'll get you."

"Apple never falls far from the tree." His dad said, and Romeo looked down at the table to busy himself with the place settings, and roll his eyes in peace.

Parents. Always embarrassing.

"Yeah, I dunno... Scar's dad told me to stop talking to her," Romeo shrugged as if it was no big deal, and it was no big deal, except Scarlett's dad scared the hell out of Romeo. Almost enough to make him stop hanging around her, except he was a teenage boy and if his past track record of decisions was anything to go by, well... he wasn't a very smart teenage boy.

What did it matter, anyway? What would Kirby really do? If he tried anything funny, Romeo knew that his dad would take care of Dalton.

Maybe that's why he was even bothering to mention it. As a precursor -- in case something happened to Romeo, his dad would know exactly who to blame.

It wasn't long before his dad started commenting on the other people in the gala. Chanel Clairmont, the famous actress, and Jace the... something. Romeo didn't really know -- he tended to tune his dad's endless rants out.

But he did catch the end, to which Romeo just rolled his eyes once more -- this time failing to turn his gaze downwards to hide the act from his dad.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said dismissively. Romeo always looked like he belonged, even as he tugged at the collar of his shirt once more, despite his dad's scolding. "I'm gonna go get a drink and find my friends." He said, letting go of his collar, before heading away from his dad before he could launch into another tirade about some old classmate.

Of course, once he had the punch in hand and had turned around, Romeo was reminded of the fact that he'd burned quite a few bridges in the last few months. And as he glanced around at the crowd, eyes falling from Declan to Claudia, he was... well, simply reminded that he didn't really have a lot of friends to find.

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
mentions mentions mentions

interactions
Chas

tags
@hery

º º code by ditto º º

lvcid · Jul 16, 2024

music teacher.

axel jericho.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

location

the event hall

outfit

interactions

liv, jace, kieran

tags

As if Axel wasn’t already concerned that something was troubling Liv, the way she stole his glass of champagne for herself only drove that point home. He watched her carefully as she took a sip, pale gaze studying her long enough that the waiter holding the tray of champagne had moved on before he could get another glass—not that he cared, of course. He didn’t even notice.

Axel smiled at Liv’s compliment, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. His wife’s saccharine sweetness was just as much a defense mechanism as it was a personality trait, and at times it was hard to distinguish the difference. As much as he wanted to believe in her genuineness, there was a part of him that couldn’t help but suspect that it was nothing more than a misdirection to hide a deeper issue.

Maybe he was just on edge, looking for problems that weren’t there.

But he knew the signs.

Axel hummed thoughtfully. “You know, now that you mention it, I don’t think you did… I was starting to wonder if I put on this dumb suit for nothing.”

He’d grown a lot since the spotlight had first found him. Gone was the rebellious teenager who refused to be told what to wear—showing up to press events in baggy t-shirts and ripped jeans because he couldn’t be bothered to put more effort into his appearance beyond throwing on a leather jacket and running a hand through his hair until it was spiked and mussed to his heart’s content—and in his place was a man who would do anything Liv asked of him.

That meant dressing up, too, if it would make her happy.

Axel’s eyebrows pinched together. “Need the good shit tonight?” He stopped just short of asking Liv what she was trying to momentarily forget, but it wasn’t the time nor the place to pry.

Later, he reminded himself.

Still, he complied easily, hand resting on Liv’s lower back as he guided the two of them, along with Ziggy’s stroller, toward the bar situated against the far wall of the expansive space. It was but a detour, though, from the real objective of their night: networking.

It felt wrong having their roles reversed. Axel didn’t have a particularly outgoing bone in his body, but Liv was uncharacteristically quiet tonight, her irises glazed over with disinterest and something else he couldn’t quite place, leaving him to take the wheel in any interaction thrown at them.

Television producers, Axel had found, were especially persistent and hard to satiate with quick small talk. Michael Fritz had been burned before, and he was desperate to hold Liv’s attention while he still had the chance, and judging by the look on Liv’s face, glancing swiftly sideways to seek out her husband’s aid, she was equally eager to get rid of him.

Axel cleared his throat. “It was such a shock, actually, that I think we still need time to process it. Alone.”

Yet, Michael was either entirely unwilling or too stupid to take the hint—the couple was attempting to leave when he continued.

"And Alice Turnblad? It just makes me wonder how much they offered you two."

A self-satisfied look crossed the producer’s face—he knew he’d captured their curiosity, buying himself a moment or two more to occupy their evening.

Axel’s jaw clenched, his grip on Liv’s waist tightening instinctually.

To be quite honest, he hadn’t thought of Alice in years—not since the night Ryatt had discovered Liv collapsed by the toilet in their bathroom, unable to stand on her own. They had Alice to thank for that, after all.

Liv, Axel believed, was too pure for this world and the tribulations it had to offer. She saw the good in everyone, even when they’d done nothing to deserve her graciousness. Her relationship with Alice was a perfect example—she had proven, incident after incident, that she didn’t care for Liv’s well-being. She was like a black hole, sucking all of those around her into her suffocating darkness, rendering them a destroyed shell of themselves in her wake. If Axel hadn’t come along when he had, he wasn’t sure where she would’ve ended up—if she’d continued down the drug-induced path that Alice had set her on, he feared that she wouldn’t be anywhere six feet above the ground. The last thing she needed now was for Alice to return; despite all of the progress they’d made, it’d be all too simple for Liv to fall back into old habits—a subconscious response to her ex-girlfriend’s presence—and there was only so much Axel could do to protect her because, at the end of the day, Liv was going to do whatever she pleased.

And like before, Axel would be there to pick up the pieces.

“Oh, right, because you’re a perfect fucking saint—”

Ziggy’s cry for his friend interrupted Axel before he could inflict more verbal abuse upon the man—a good call, on the two-year-old’s part. Besides that, it made for a glaringly-bright exit sign that was impossible to ignore, even for Michael.

Still, it didn’t spare him of the hateful look that Axel sent him as a parting gift as they passed by.

“Probably because we’d say no,” Axel offered, falling into step with Liv. “You’ve already turned them down once. They know they’re on thin ice.”

All anyone seemed to care about in their world was money, too disconnected from the scope of human emotion to realize the fault in their ways.

Jace was their boss twice over, and Axel knew he should’ve made more of an effort to engage, but it was his turn to fall silent; the most he could muster was forcing the corners of his mouth up in a feeble attempt at appearing pleasant. His mind was evidently elsewhere, though, as he watched Ziggy and Clara toddle away, ducking beneath the cover of a nearby table. With them out of sight and presumably safe for the time being, Axel’s gaze drifted out across the room, pausing every now and then, when he convinced himself he’d caught sight of a familiar head of blonde hair, only to be proven—thankfully—wrong as soon as the women turned around.

There would be no easing his mind now, too preoccupied with searching for ghosts in a place he wouldn’t find one.

The feeling of eyes on him brought Axel momentarily back to the present, head swiveling to peer down at Liv. “Hm? Oh, yeah.” His words were punctuated by a nervous laugh, face tinging pink.

What had he just agreed to? He hadn’t the foggiest idea.

If Axel had known, he would’ve had some clever comment to say, something about the restricted section and how they’d always kept the most interesting books there, or how it was such a nice place to study.

Instead, all he had to go off of were Jace’s and Kieran’s expressions, which fell somewhere vaguely between disgust and amusement.

Jesus Christ. He needed to start paying attention.

“Not to mention us being back as teachers,” Axel concurred. Never would he have assumed he’d willingly choose that as a career path, but it was full-circle, in a way, to the days he’d spent as a music store’s drum instructor. It was familiar territory, oddly enough. “It’s weird.” He sighed. “Let’s hope they’re better than we were.”

It wouldn’t take much to accomplish that—steering clear of any kind of deviant behavior would’ve been an improvement because, between the four of them, Axel was fairly certain they’d done a little bit of everything.

gh0stwriter · Jul 16, 2024

king.

Declan Sinclaire-Woods

better now

location

nya gala

outfit

http://xx

http://xx

interactions

Nate & Theo

tags

It might have gotten to him.

The ‘I did your mom’ jokes.

Might have. If it was so incredibly, incredibly unoriginal. Sinclaires didn’t bat an eye at mediocrity. They laughed at it. Looked down on it. Talked about it as if it were a plague. But it was clear that Theo felt right at home there. It was no surprise given who his parents were. Particularly his father. At one point, he might have been shocked. Deny it even. Theo had a vision. Was determined. Smug in all the right ways. They were going to make great movies together. But obviously Theo had been a better actor than he’d given him credit for.

The amused look never left Declan’s face. Theo’s attempts were comical. Entertaining. And despite the other boy’s demeanor, he could tell that he’d said just enough to cause cracks in the other boy’s stoic facade. Maybe Theo hoped he’d forgotten that they knew more about each other than anyone else. And, that for one, it was life-ruining information. But he was a Sinclaire. And despite the juicy piece of history that would end Theo where he stood, he’d never use it for evil. Plus, there was plenty else to focus on. The Rivera name alone lent itself to enough ridicule to fill a book.

Broadway internships. Hollywood big-leagues. Masterpieces. Declan listened on in feigned interest. He’d kept up on New York life. The only masterpiece was the pile of bullshit that Theo was trying to feed him. He rolled his eyes as he continued. “It was about this junkie character with no friends whose family can’t stand him that O.D’s in a ditch, and absolutely nobody misses him.” The words hit him harder than he wanted them to, the smug smile faded from his lips. How had things gotten this bad?

They were inseparable for a while there. Rehearsals. Reading lines. He was one of the only people that stepped in and tried to talk him out of going down this road. “Yeah, man, I do wanna know. Call it a morbid curiosity.” Theo nodded, putting down his cup. “How does it feel to go down your methhead daddy’s path? Is it as sad and pathetic as it looks? I mean, teenage junkie, unremarkable in every way, family disappointment…it’s a bit ridiculously on the nose, right? ” But he refused to let him win. The Sinclaire in him was too strong and too stubborn.

His smirk returned. “Oh, Cohen…” He stepped closer. “...you really want to bring daddy issues into this?” It was a warning. Declan had ammunition. “Cause I’d rethink that if I were you. You know, with how much you vie for daddy’s attention.”

“You should probably thank me, dude. If I hadn't slept with Carmen when I did, in a few years you two might already be divorced and arguing about who gets to keep the kid neither of you want.” Theo’s hand on his shoulder was testing his patience. “I can picture it- a failed career, a legal marijuana prescription and absolutely no prospects…we all know you wouldn’t be able to sense talent if it was a line of white powder going up your nose. So really, Dec, you’re super fucking welcome.”

He let out a soft laugh. His eyes went metaphorically red as he leaned back and sent a left hook to Theo’s face. Okay, he was a Sinclaire through and through, but every now and then…a bitch needs some Woods. And Theo was most definitely a bitch.

Soap · Jul 16, 2024

aspiring ~~artist~~ journalist.

Scarlett Fox-Kirby.

west coast

location

gala

outfit

interactions

Dalton, Lydia, Romeo

tags

“Had I known it was a sore subject, I wouldn’t have brought it up.”

Nolo hic esse.

Latin for "I don’t want to be here."

Like Latin, social etiquette was dying. Everyone here was in a mask — of course, not literally. Instead, they hid under their red-bottomed shoes and Versace dresses.

She often wondered why her parents had never thrown away the social aspect of their lives when they clearly didn’t enjoy it.

Scarlett smiled beside her parents as cameras flashed, the photographer her father had hired for the event seemingly happy with the picture-perfect family photo.

“It’s barely a week. We have no plans, I checked the calendar.”

There was the obvious answer.

Their jobs.

Lydia Fox was the journalist every writer wanted to be. Her articles had garnered enough notice that she had taken over her parents' magazine company.

While Dalton Kirby... was he even properly liked? She couldn’t fathom a good enough reason why her father still decided to stay in the spotlight. It wasn’t as though he was praised for his work.

More like gawked upon.

“Dad,”

“Dalton! One more, look over here.”

It didn’t surprise her that her mother married a model — but at least if it was one who had given their child the time of day.

Or perhaps they did love the spotlight.

They loved the cameras, the rumors, the endless fickle judgment, and the watchful eyes over every move. It was the reason they were who they were, after all.

Scarlett was on the outside looking in — not the other way around.

Two people who bathed in the attention of their peers, their daughter might as well have been invisible at this very moment, despite their hasty replies.

Once released from the prison that was her mother enjoying the praises thrown at her feet, they walked into the event hall proper. “An hour, I beg. I can’t spend this much time with suits half my age and people I don’t care to get to know.”

Her parents were the beauty and the brains — fortunately enough, Scarlett Fox-Kirby was the perfect mix of either of them. “A good journalist networks,” Scarlett said in sync with Lydia.

Scarlett liked to think she knew her mother more than she knew herself... but nobody really knew Lydia. Her mother was an enigma, one even she couldn't figure out.

“I know, Mom.”

It hasn’t stopped her from following in her footsteps, though.

A Fox-Kirby had a lot to live up to.

Which one would say is a blessing, but most would say a generational curse.

“You and I both know there isn’t anything remotely interesting happening tonight. But… since I’m clearly unwanted,” Scarlett’s gaze fell to Dalton with a subtle glare, brown eyes that matched his own hinting at her animosity from their earlier argument.

“I’ll network.”

With that, she made her exit.

The truth was, there wasn’t anyone here she would even bother to speak to. There wasn’t any sign of Cassius, who may or may not have been the inspiration for her earlier proposal — one that had gotten shut down fairly quickly by her father.

She wasn’t stupid enough to mention his name, a weekend away with a boy who wasn’t even her boyfriend? Scandalous. Not to mention her father’s worst nightmare. In any other circumstance, she would’ve just asked to upset him. Scarlett liked getting a rise out of her father because he acted like one long enough to say no.

But besides Cassius? The only other person Scarlett kept an eye out for despised her.

A new school, and already completely alone. Maybe she was more like her father than she thought.

Before finally, her gaze had landed on somebody who would never ignore her. “You look like you’re having fun,” Scarlett said, taking the glass from his hand and bringing it to her lips.

It reeked of alcohol.

The sip she’d taken burned her throat as her brows furrowed in disgust. “Maybe more than I thought you were. What is in here?”

Romeo Marino... it was hard to say if they were friends or not. Scarlett enjoyed his company, the way he’d hang on to her every word — and look at her like her name was the start of an argument in his relationship.

Maybe Scarlett liked solitude, and maybe she didn’t like the cameras.

But damn, did she love attention.

“Aren’t you going to tell me I look nice?”

Winona · Jul 17, 2024

Nathan Woods

He tensed up, briefly wondering what would've happened if Ronnie hadn't saved his ass as the security guards made their way over. He'd likely be taken away, maybe reprimanded, but probably nothing too bad -- but he knew Evelyn would use it as some dumb ass reason to push for getting more custody of Declan.

She was probably right, of course. Nate wasn't really in a good place to be taking care of Declan, as seen by the whole world when Declan ended up in rehab. But really, could anyone be surprised that his son was following in his footsteps? Maybe if Evelyn had been around more, maybe if she'd spent less time fighting with Nate, and more time--

... It wasn't important.

It was in the past.

"Come over, before you get in real trouble, ha ha!" Ronnie's annoyingly cheerful voice chirped.

"Yeah, yeah, I am," he mumbled, yanking his arm away from one of the security guards that had reached him before he finished stepping over the rope. "My wife is Evelyn Sinclaire, you know? Your boss. She wouldn't be very happy to know you guys tried to take me away, ya know? She hates bad publicity." He explained, as his foot caught the rope and he stumbled, barely catching himself before he straightened up, and waved a dismissive hand in the security guards' direction.

"Thanks," he grumbled under his breath to Ronnie and Angie, as the guards reluctantly started off, and Nate came face to face with his old painting. His head tilted to the side for a moment, hands coming to rest on his sides, as he studied it.

He remembered when he'd made it. Declan had been young, maybe six months old. Nate would work on it late at night, sometimes with Declan in one arm, paintbrush in the other. Sometimes when Declan was sleeping, sometimes when Evelyn had their son. The strokes of the paintbrush had been the only thing that kept him sane through the early months of no sleep.

Nate pressed his lips together, swallowing the lump forming in his throat.

"Alright, thanks," Nate said curtly as he once again went to grab the painting. "I'll send Mike your regards, alright?"

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
N/A

interactions
Ronnie, Angela

Soap @hery

º º code by ditto º º

Winona · Jul 17, 2024

Ashton West

Refusing to tell her kids no? Pretty much summed Ash up, and wasn't a terrible big surprise if you knew her -- or rather, knew her mom. Elise had spent Ash's entire childhood telling her no and trying to dictate her decisions.

Well, she'd succeeded -- so less trying to dictate, and more definitely dictating.

The result? A frayed relationship between Ash and her mom, that was barely being held together by her father and brother, both of whom Ash found herself unable to cut out of her life. It had also caused her to absolutely spoil the hell out of the kids she'd never actually wanted.

Which meant? The kitten discussion was not over.

--------

Per usual, they were late. Being on time had been something that had gradually decayed in importance in Ash's life, until she was basically always -- at least -- a good fifteen minutes late.

It had steadily gotten worse when they'd had Isaac, and even worse with the twins, so by time they'd actually arrived today, the gala was in full swing. Ash kind of liked it that way, actually... it meant they wouldn't have to stick around quite as long, which was also good because there was no way her husband would've willingly stayed for the whole thing.

As their kids took off, Ash plastered a smile on her face. Years of being under the public's eye had caused her to perfect that smile, and well... if she could keep smiling and looking happy when she'd been in a fake relationship with Dalton Kirby, then surely her smile was bulletproof with anything else that might occur.

"Maybe," she murmured to Lucky, "we can just walk around, say hi to a few people, and then get out of here? Jace could drive the kids home."

Galas and similar events had been ones that she'd gone to less and less after her music career had faded into obscurity, and although some part of her had missed the opportunities to dress up and interact with adults, the other part of her was thankful that these weren't as common of a occurrence as they had once been.

Eventually, her gaze fell on Javi, and she waved back at him... until she realized that he was gesturing for the two of them to come over. And then her smile did briefly fall into a frown, but mostly because she knew that running into him probably meant a longer night than she'd already planned.

"See? Javi came out -- you're not totally alone," she said with a breathy sigh as she headed towards the drink table where Javi was standing, and looking... concerned?

Her smile twisted into a concerned frown. "Javi..." she greeted, "are you alright?"

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
mentions mentions mentions

interactions
Lucky, Javi

tags

gh0stwriter @hery

º º code by ditto º º

Winona · Jul 17, 2024

Casey Clairmont

Ya know, you do everything in your power to raise your kids to be loving and understanding and real, real, real good people. 'Cause like, you're not the type of person to fight or throw punches or wish anger on people, ya know? You've really spent your life trying to embody that gif of Spongebob smiling as he tosses out flowers at Squidward -- you are the Spongebob of the world, tossing flowers and love at the Squidwards of the world.

(Chas, for example, whose life was always so much better when Casey showed up. Everyone knew that Chas peaked in high school when he dated the sexy cool awesome blonde rockstar named Casey.)

So here Casebob was (ahahaha that was so funny, he should really go as Spongebob for Halloween sometime), interacting with adults and stuff, 'cause he kinda cared 'bout this whole school thing. Partially 'cause his kids were gonna be there, and partially 'cause his ol' flame Chas Marino was on the board, but mostly cause his super cool, super gorgeous, super amazing, super pregnant wife was gonna be teaching at the school and uhhh, what kind of husband would he be if he wasn't supporting her to the ten thousandth power?

'Cept that all of that was for nothing when he heard screaming.

"Bet that's Dalton and Lydia's kid," he chuckled to whoever the random donor was that him and Iris had been speaking with. And still smiling, he turned around to see--

A pink powderpuff blonde, slamming her fist into a screaming little brunette.

He kept smiling. Staring. Blinking. All of that stuff as he let his brain catch up with what his eyeballs were seeing, 'cause he was pretty sure his eyeballs were seeing his daughter and his kind of daughter fighting? Under this good art academy ceiling? Right in front of the children and the donors?

"Would you excuse me for a moment?" he said to the person he'd been conversing with, chuckling again, before he turned and started walking towards the girls.

His walking quickly turned into a brisk power walk -- one that was often seen by suburban moms as they power walked their way through their suburbia paradises -- but it quickly turned into a full on run. And yes, he bumped into a couple people on the way, until he'd gotten to the girls.

Casey glanced at Brinley, who was simply standing off to the side, with her arms crossed over her chest as she watched. "Why didn't ya try to stop this or get me, huh?" he asked, as he gestured wildly at the girls before them.

Brin shrugged. "Blood is really hard to get out."

"There's blood?" Casey squeaked.

He reached down, wrapping his arms around Ember's waist, as he lifted his daughter away from Viva. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he yelled as he dropped Ember to the ground, an arm moving in front of her as he made sure she kept back from Viva, before he moved between the girls, holding his hands out towards Ember and Viva like Chris Pratt did to those velociraptors.

Who knew teenage girls could be handled the same way as dinosaurs?

"What the heck's going on?" he asked, glancing first at Ember, and then back to Viva. He dropped his hands and moved over, helping Viva up from the ground. "Damn, your mom's gonna kill me."

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
mentions mentions mentions

interactions
Iris, Ember, Viva

tags

lvcid

thatonegirl28

º º code by ditto º º

Winona · Jul 17, 2024

Jace West

“And then we can celebrate your big night, hm? What do you wanna do?” Kieran said, and Jace couldn't help but grin.

It was wild, really, to think that he was here. That Jace West, the awkward, bullied kid, had grown into... this. He was married, he was happy, he had kids, he had a successful business. He'd learned to speak up for himself, he'd found his voice, and he'd found his passion and in something that he was generally happy doing.

Jace had always thought that if he could go back to his past self, he'd tell him to keep his head up. That things got so much better after high school, and that the world was so much bigger than that tiny school of pretentious pricks.

"Well," he rubbed at the back of his neck, kind of chuckling as he did so. "Chas'll kill me if I don't try to talk to a few donors and talk 'em up. So I guess that."

It wasn't very fun, though.

Thankfully, though, he didn't have to bother speaking to donors (at least not yet), nor did they have to go on a mad hunt for Ziggy, as Liv and Axel came over with the little toddler. In no time, Liv had briskly unbuckled him and set him down on the ground, and Clara was raring to go, but Jace crouched down to her level and pulled her back towards him.

"Listen," he whispered, "if there's gum under a table, we're not licking it, alright? Better yet, we're not even touching it, yeah? Do that and I'll get you ah... so much candy." Jace smiled at his daughter, and then he straightened back up, watching as she took Ziggy's hand and before long, they'd disappeared under a table.

“The gala looks amazing, I’m loving it, really,” Livanna said.

"Yeah, can you tell that Chas kind of took over the whole gala thing?" he asked with a bit of a frown. It felt like a bit... too much, but it was a prestigious academy, so perhaps that meant this was all fitting.

“I can only imagine what the rest of the school looks like. Maybe we’ll visit the library for a little reminiscing…”

"I dunno if it's quite finished yet," he commented absently, completely missing the way Liv looked at Axel.

What? Jace was a business man.

"Gosh, isn't it so surreal? Our kids attending the same school we did?"

“Not to mention us being back as teachers,” Axel agreed. “It’s weird. Let’s hope they’re better than we were.”

"Well, they will be," he stated matter-of-factly. "We'll all be there watching, and this time, we know what to look out for, ya know? Plus, I dunno... dorms seemed kind of like a stupid idea, so keeping kids at home will help with a lot of it, I think."

Not that living at home had particularly helped with his sister, of course, or so many others that he'd had the displeasure of being peers with.

"Glad to have you two on board, of course. Hoping the teaching thing doesn't interfere too much with your work with the label, though," Jace said with a smile, before glancing at his husband. "Oh, and Kieran wanted to invite you two over for dinner," he added, patting his husband on the arm. "Isn't that right?"

(It wasn't totally right.)

(Jace wanted them over, but hey, why not drag his husband in?)

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
mentions mentions mentions

interactions
Kieran, Liv, Axel

tags

lvcid

º º code by ditto º º

Winona · Jul 17, 2024

Mason Rivera

When it came to Tabitha referring to the three kids as ours, it was something that didn't even register with Mason anymore. They were theirs, at least to some degree. Theo obviously, Dani less obviously -- but Tabitha had been in her life on and off for years, so it only felt fitting that she'd bunch Dani in with the other two, and... of course, there was Ari. And obviously, Ari still kept Tabitha at an arm's length away, but at least she wasn't hellbent on killing her like someone was.

He really didn't know where Dani got her wild streak from. She was too damn close to acting like a sociopath for him to claim that it had anything to do with his own wild streaks.

Mason exhaled slowly.

"You know, I never met a lot of the people you went to school with back in high school," he said, gaze flickering down to her. "But they all seem like assholes. How d'ya know our kids aren't gonna end up being pompous pricks in twenty years if they go to this school, huh? Plus, wasn't it fuckin' shut down? What if there's still cocaine in the pipes and it turns Dani into an addict, huh? Ya know Nor would fuckin' kill me if she thought it was my fault."

Yeah, Mason tended to be a touch overprotective of the kids. Whereas he'd been privy to way too much way too young, he'd done his best to shield his kids from the worst parts of life -- which was... not really possible when your younger brother was a drug addict that couldn't stop overdosing, and you'd knocked up three women in three years.

Mason was exactly what he was trying so desperately to protect his kids from and no, he'd never realize that.

(And yes, he was the most worried about Dani.)

(That girl was a fucking disaster.)

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
mentions mentions mentions

interactions
Tabitha

tags

º º code by ditto º º

Winona · Jul 17, 2024

Romeo Marino

In just a matter of seconds from getting his drink, Romeo lost it to a familiar redhead, who snatched it from his hand. Sure, he could've easily pulled it away from her, or held the glass tightly so she couldn't steal it, but he relented and let her take it. And even if he'd let her take the drink, and even if he was super relieved to have someone he actually knew approach him, he kept a sour expression on his face -- for show, of course.

He couldn't let Scarlett know that he genuinely was glad to see her, 'cause that would kind of ruin the game the two had. Just like he knew that Scarlett had definitely been waiting for him to show up -- unlike her dad, who was most certainly hoping he wouldn't show his face near her. And yes, Romeo immediately glanced around to see if he could spot the guy.

“You look like you’re having fun,” Scarlett said.

"Yeah, if you count getting the lecture from my dad about how to act and network, then sure." He said, voice dripping with sarcasm as Scarlett sipped his drink -- and as he kept an eye out for an angry man coming to kill him.

(Dalton, obviously. He was very scared of Dalton.)

“Maybe more than I thought you were. What is in here?”

"Huh?" Romeo frowned, taking the drink from her and bringing it to his lips and taking a sip, only to quickly pull it back, his nose wrinkling up in disgust at the bitter taste of alcohol. "Dude, school hasn't even started and they're already spiking the punch?" he snorted, shaking his head--

Oh shit, he should probably tell his dad.

....

What Chas Marino didn't know wouldn't hurt him, so Romeo took another sip of the drink. This time, his expression was significantly less childish.

“Aren’t you going to tell me I look nice?”

He raised an eyebrow as he dropped his hand with drink in hand to his side. He hadn't really look looked at her yet, but now he did -- a quick glance down the red dress she wore. Nothing weird, no lingering stares, he had a girlfriend, you guys, and he was mostly committed to her.

"You look good," Romeo said, "red's your color."

(He did get some of his dad's traits, guys. Kind of.)

"Alright, now me," he held his arms straight out, tilting his head a bit. "Go ahead -- tell me I look good. But not too loud. I don't want your dad killing me, ya know? This is a new shirt."

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
mentions mentions mentions

interactions
Scarlett

tags

º º code by ditto º º

thatonegirl28 · Jul 17, 2024

.
.
.
.

how she's feeling...

sick to her stomach
what she's wearing...

red satin dress
where she's at...

the gala
in the conversation...

Casey Winona Ember lvcid Viva @me

Celie

Kinson

It took a while for Celie to find a spot in the room that she was comfortable in, even longer for her to find a waiter with a drink tray that wasn’t alcoholic. She’d taken her glass of cranberry juice and headed to the corner, milling around and trying to make it seem like the idea of being back at this school again and her daughter being a future student didn’t make her want to die.

Back in the day she wasn’t a fulltime student, her mother Sheryl had always thought that to put her in a school all day for the majority of the year would be a “Waste of her talent.” so she opted for homeschool so she could spend more time working. Which mostly just consisted of tossing a workbook at her and telling her to take a look and then interrupting her after an hour to run lines or giving a half-hearted attempt to read the material to Celie herself. It was what kept her able to appear in so many projects a year when compared to some of her peers, it was also what led to Celie spending the majority of her life thinking Africa was a country and that you couldn’t get pregnant on birth control. The former was embarrassing but the latter really came back to bite her and Sheryl in the ass later.

Her rather obsessed mother would eventually be convinced to allow Celie to take acting classes at New York Arts, since it wasn’t just boring general subjects but would actually allow her to hone her craft she allowed her daughter’s attendance.

Even if she wasn’t there as often as the other students, Celie could firmly remember the drama that haunted the halls. The drinking, the drugs, the hooking up, the fights. Oh, the fights…

Her head whipped towards the sound of a glass shattering and shrieks one might expect from a WWE match. She was setting her own beverage down on a passing waiter’s tray and picked up speed as she was jogging towards the sound of the commotion.

“Oh god, I hope that’s not one of Viva’s friends.”

She muttered under her breath as she grabbed fistfuls of her red satin dress to allow her feet the freedom to rush.

Her heart dropped out her fucking ass when she saw the raggedy blonde man she knew as her ex-boyfriend, and one of her best friends in general to be honest, helping her own child up out of the remains of what was once a table with the beautiful floral dress she had left the house in now marred with blood. Her blood. The blood that seemed to be gushing from her nose that was also certainly not the way she left the house with it.

“Why don’t you ask her!?”

Viva shouted, pointing a finger at Ember with seething anger

“She fucking started it!”

“Can we get some napkins, please? And a first aid kit?” Celie flagged down a nearby member of staff before stepping beside Casey in dividing the girls so there were no further blows.

She took Viva by her shoulders, feeling indentations on her skin beneath her fingers as she comforted her child. Briefly she glanced over her shoulder at Ember, who was sickeningly unmarked aside from a pink handprint on her cheek. Damn, she really was as volatile as her father wasn't she? An asset perhaps in some circumstances, but not when it came to this.

“Watch your mouth, okay?”

Celie said quietly as she ran her hands up and down Viva’s arms

“It doesn’t matter who’s fault it is right now.”

Her daughter squirmed under her touch, flames still burning in her blue eyes

“Can someone take my side, for once in my life, PLEASE?!”

Her voice was thick with blood that was undoubtedly running down the back of her throat, and jealousy, no doubt.

Celie cupped the side of her face very gingerly so as not to upset whatever number of fractured bones were in her face at the moment. The very face that she had spent nine grueling months creating and thirty-seven hours of torturous, unmedicated, labor bringing into this world

“I am on your side, always. You know that don’t you?”

She said, nearly begging

“Don’t you?”

Viva looked certainly unconvinced, and Celie was certainly heartbroken.

♡coded by uxie♡

gingersnaps · Jul 17, 2024

D.J

Delphine glared down at her phone, listening to the automated female voice say, for what felt like the billionth time, “We’re sorry, we could not connect your call. Please leave a message after the beep-”

The screen was cracked from when she’d thrown it down in anger yesterday. It was a momentary satisfaction, to break something her father had given to her while he’s constantly ignoring her calls. She felt good about it for about 30 seconds, and then she just wanted to cry again.

Parents fought. DJ knew that better than anybody, because her parents fought a lot. Her mother usually told her to stay out of it, let the grown-ups solve their grown-up issues, and so far, it’d been fine. Even when it looked like they were about to kill each other with their bare hands, JJ and Trevor worked it out.

Until, well, they didn't. And nobody wanted to tell DJ why.

Delphine came home one day to find her father gone. Packed up and left, just like that. Where he went, she had no clue, as her mother refused to talk about the subject, and her father wouldn't answer her calls.

She kept expecting to wake up and find Trevor back at the breakfast table, getting jumped on by Precious Jr. and arguing about petty nonsense with her mother. But time passed, and it just wouldn't happen. And she was starting to go from sad to properly fucking angry.

“Dad. It’s me, again, your daughter. Remember me?” Delphine sighed, irritated as she spoke once again to his voicemail, trying to do the finish touches of her make-up as she did. “It’d be nice to get some confirmation that you’re alive, and not buried out back in the garden. It’d really suck if you got murdered just before school started…call me back, or whatever.”

She resisted the urge to fling the phone across the room again.

The blue dress her mother had picked out was sprawled on the bed, and suddenly it looked like the ugliest thing DJ had ever laid eyes on. Everything that was even slightly involved with her family just seemed to endlessly piss her off- she opted for a lavender gown she’d gotten a few years ago while shopping with She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. It also had some sad memories attached to, but at least DJ was already used to those.

“Delphine! Let’s go!” Her mother’s voice came from downstairs.

“I said don’t rush me!” DJ shouted right back, huffing. “God.”

JJ came into her room, and Del did her best to keep her expression somewhere between neutral and annoyed. There was a cold war brewing between mother and daughter since Trevor left, and DJ felt closer and closer to releasing a nuke.

“I thought you were going with the blue?” Juliette questioned, circling around her and studying DJ’s appearance like she always did back in the reality show days. “Hm.”

“Changed my mind.” Delphine responded curtly. If her mom won’t offer her any explanations, she won't either.

"Change the shoes, wear the diamond heels. I'll be in the car."

She exchanged a secret look with Lupe- “can you believe her?!”, her eyes said, while JJ left the room wearing her stupid mink shawl.

Delphine groaned loudly in annoyance, and grabbed the diamond heels, because yeah, she was right. But Del didn't have to like it.
----

Delphine was cooly quiet throughout the car ride- uncomfortable silence was one of the very few weapons she had in her arsenal. Which worked fine, since her mother seemed too preoccupied yelling at the other drivers to try to spark up conversation.

“Your father might be there.”

This one phrase caused DJ’s green eyes to widen.

“What do you mean, ‘might’?” She spoke up, for the first time in quite a bit, with her eyes narrowed. “So you don’t even know! You lied to me!”

They were already much alike, but when Delphine got angry, she was an eerie spitting image of her mother.

“I am so sick of you two lying to me and treating me like an idiot.” She rubbed her temples, being careful to not mess with her make-up as she did. “So what, if he’s there, we’re all gonna sit down and have a nice family dinner? That way we’ll look like the perfect family in front of your friends and the cameras, right? God!”

DJ had half a mind to jump out of the moving car, make a real statement and scare the shit out of them. Except her mother drove like a psychopath on speed, and she might actually die if she did that.

“...I’m not going.” Delphine settled on another plan of attack. “Either you tell me what’s going on right now, or I’m staying in this car all night! And I might just turn the AC off so I get heatstroke and die, maybe that way you’ll pay attention to me!”

That logic was flawed in the sense that it was nighttime, and it’ll be considerably more difficult to get heatstroke when the sun’s not out. But it was the thought that counted.

“I mean, what did you do to make him so mad?! And why am I getting punished for it?! It’s not fair.”

mood

mood mood mood

location

location location location

outfit

outfit outfit outfit

playing...

song title

by artist

mentions

mentions mentions mentions

interactions

JJ.

tags

Winona

º º code by ditto º º

lvcid · Jul 17, 2024

drama teacher.

iris warner.

Bloodline

location

the event hall

outfit

interactions

casey, brinley, ember, nellie

tags

“I’m just so glad they’ve gotten someone with actual experience to teach the kids!”

“It’s an honor to be here, truly.“

After the PR nightmare that Iris had been as a teenager—particularly during high school, when her rebellious attempts at breaking the wholesome, girl-next-door mold she’d been put into as a child had been at an all-time high—the job offer for the very school that’d seen her at her worst came as a surprise. Still, people could change, and Iris was living proof of that. The mere fact that she was able to entertain this donor without the aid of any kind of questionable substances spoke volumes—the days of the blonde slurring her way through interviews, pupils blown wide and enough alcohol in her system to render even a legal adult useless, not to mention a sixteen-year-old girl, were far behind her. She was responsible now.

The change hadn’t been an easy one, but it would’ve been nearly impossible without the support system that Iris had garnered through the years. Chanel was someone she’d admired and respected since they were mere children, there for Iris when she needed her most. Even as adults, Nellie made time in her busy schedule to help whenever she could, which had recently entailed her promised involvement in the school’s upcoming musical in anticipation of Iris’ inevitable maternity leave, when she’d be far more concerned in preparing for a baby than she would be with listening to a bunch of prospective kids belting show tunes.

Of course, there was Casey, too, and—

Wait. Where was he?

A glance to Iris’ left told her that her husband had wandered off, which wouldn’t have been entirely out of character for him—he was easily distracted—and she wouldn’t have thought anything of it had she not spotted him a few feet away, pace quickening as he approached the area where their daughter was currently beating Viva Crusoe to a bloody pulp.

“You’re doing us a great service—”

“I’m so sorry. Will you excuse me?”

Iris didn’t wait for an answer before darting away.

Casey had already succeeded in separating the two girls by the time Iris arrived at the scene of the crime.

“Me?” Ember moved as if to step closer to Viva, but Casey’s arm effectively blocked her path. “Don’t play innocent! You’ve been treating me like a monster all summer, and I don’t even know why, so sorry for acting the part—”

“Ember.”

The girl turned around, blonde curls—more frazzled, somehow, than they had been when they’d left the house—whipping wildly with the motion. Her eyes landed first on Iris, startled by her sudden presence, but she seemed to shrink into herself as her gaze slid past her mother.

Iris glanced over her shoulder only to find that Chanel had appeared to do damage control as well. Great.

Looking up to Nellie meant wanting to impress her, too, and this was the last sort of thing Iris would choose to have her sister-in-law witness.

“Outside. Now.”

“But—”

One pointed look from her mother, and Ember’s mouth clamped shut, any further arguments dying in her throat as Iris seized her arm and guided her towards the back door.

As they passed, Brinley offered an amused smile at her sister’s misfortune, but Iris was quick to say, “Don’t get me started on you. You let this happen.”

Iris was well-aware of the attention on them as they made their swift exit, but there was no way to avoid it now—the damage had already been done.

“Mom, you’re embarrassing me,” Ember whined.

Iris leaned close enough to her daughter that only she could hear when the woman hissed, “You have no room to talk about that right now.”

The metal door fell heavily into place behind them as the blonde duo emerged into the night air. It was almost deafeningly quiet compared to the interior of the building, nothing to break the stifling silence that had fallen over the pair save for the distant hum of the crowd at the front of the Event Hall and the occasional passing of a car on the main road.

Exhaling, Iris finally swiveled to face Ember. “What were you thinking?”

Ember kicked half-heartedly at a pebble on the sidewalk at her feet, offering only a shrug in response, suddenly unwilling to talk despite her eagerness to defend her actions only moments before.

Iris frowned at her daughter’s obstinance. “Look,” she started, “I get not liking them. I really, really do.” The woman couldn’t help but think back to her first pregnancy, when listening to Cami’s own complaints regarding Celie and Viva had only spurred on her overly-hormonal, paranoid mind. “But you can’t behave like that. Especially not where people can see.” Iris pinched the bridge of her nose, brow crinkling in frustration. “This school is a big opportunity, but a stunt like that is the kind of thing that’ll ruin it for both of us.”

Ember sighed, rolling her eyes. “Well, yeah, but—”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Iris held up her hands. Any excuse that the girl could conjure up now would fall on deaf ears—whatever petty quarrel she had with Viva could sort itself out if Ember didn’t want to cooperate. “You need to get your act together. You’ve had an attitude all night, and I don’t know what your problem is, but you’re going to sit here and figure it out before you go back inside—so help me, don’t even think about going in before then. Got it?”

“Whatever,” Ember muttered.

“Excuse me?”

“Got it.”

“Thank you.”

Iris smoothed out the front of her dress, red sequins glittering in the warm glow of the floodlights, before rejoining the party, forcing down the lump of nerves forming in her throat as she crossed over the threshold. She sent Ember one last warning glare before allowing the door to fall shut between them.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Ember grit her teeth, fingers clenching at her sides and tears burning a trail down her sore cheek as she finally gave in, mouth falling open to release a guttural scream. She bent down to scoop up a stray chunk of brick and flung it as far as what little upper body strength she had would allow—it only flew a few feet before skittering to a stop, scraping across the pavement, but that only aided her burning anger, like trying to put out a fire with vodka.

Can’t even throw a fucking rock right.

The blonde plopped down, leaning against the wall with little regard for how the rough stones cut into her exposed back. She picked at her faux nails—the one on her right thumb was loose, a result of her brawl, most likely, as was the bruise already beginning to bloom across her knuckles like a big, purple flower, taunting her.

An iris, perhaps.

Her mother didn’t understand, nor did she seem to care to.

Ember could sit out here for the rest of the night, and there’d still be no composing herself before the limo returned to pick them up when the party finally started to die down.

It wasn’t the worst fate, she supposed, if the alternative was facing the aftermath of her rash decisions inside. Judgmental glances and snickering remarks muttered just below an octave she’d be able to make out, but she’d be able to guess well enough what they were saying.

She’s a fucking psycho. Better look out for her.

All while Viva was smothered in sympathy.

Not smothered—bathed.

A good smothering would be entirely too lucky for Ember, given how the rest of her life was going.

gingersnaps · Jul 18, 2024

Theo Cohen-Rivera

The smug look on Sinclaire’s face only motivated Theo to cut through it. That was the bitch of knowing what makes someone tick, you also know exactly how to break them. And the worse Theo’s words got- and they were getting pretty fucking bad- the more he could spot the crack in Declan’s expression, the twitch in his smile that indicated Theo had successfully pissed him off. It was an extremely satisfying sight.

Okay, maybe he’d taken things a little bit too far, and maybe he was well aware of it. He was his parents’ child, after all. Neither Mason or Tabitha were known for their kind and sweet nature.

But maybe he should’ve expected the sucker punch. As Declan’s fist connected with his face, he wondered how the fuck he didn’t predict this outcome.

Sinclaire was stronger than he expected. Theo stumbled a couple steps backward, taking his hand to cup his cheek, leaning against the table with the punch to avoid falling on his ass completley. He was a bit too bewildered to focus on the fact that ow, that fucking hurt. If he wasn’t so shocked about the punch, he might have had a more logical reaction- instead, Theo started laughing like a maniac.

“Did you just fucking hit me, you psycho?” He was still laughing as he got the words out, having little control over it, because really, the gall on this bastard was too absurd.

There were people looking over at the commotion now, whispering to each other with wide eyes. If Theo hadn’t inherited his mother’s pride and his father’s anger, he might have taken the high road and walked away, because this was an important event for his entire family, and all his peers and professors were present.

“Oh, I’m gonna fucking kill you before the drugs can.”

Instead, he jumped at Declan and took him down to the ground, decking him in the face in the process, as a sweet moment of payback.

If Declan wanted to act crazy, he was about to find out Theo was crazier.

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
mentions mentions mentions

interactions
Declan.

tags

Winona

º º code by ditto º º

gingersnaps · Jul 18, 2024

Kieran West

Kieran felt a sense of pride as he got a grin out of his husband. He had such a nice smile; Kieran would do quite literally anything Jace asked of him when he smiled like that.

Even if what he asked was to spend an hour kissing some random rich people ass. Kieran would argue that he was more of a liability than any help in that scenario- he had a tendency to make too much eye-contact and was generally an intimidating and off-putting presence. It doesn’t exactly scream “give us money please”. He could try to be amicable, but he wasn’t particularly good at it.

Still, he didn’t have to try to put on a slightly-less-antisocial façade yet- at least not completely, since the couple approaching them was somewhat accustomed to Kieran’s lack of social etiquette. Axel and Livanna were fine, as far as people go. There was a lot worse out there than the Jericho-Moores He used to have to dodge her very weird flirting back in the way- but Kieran quickly figured out that she was like that with pretty much everyone. No matter how many times he told her to fuck off.

But they were a billion times better than some random fucking stranger with deep pockets that Marino invited.

He was right, Clara was the one to save him from painfully awkward conversations. He smiled as the little girl ran over to Ziggy, whom she claimed was her best friend (after her papas and brothers, naturally). Jace gave her some smart advice about gum, and Kieran patted her head.

“C’mon, scram, brat.” Kieran said fondly, and watched at the two kids ran off together. Surprisingly, the 5-year-old was the one kid he was least worried about. She was the responsible one. “Get outta’ here and go play with your buddy.”

“He’s gotta be good for something, I guess. Not sure what, since decorating obviously isn’t it.” Kieran scoffed at the comment about Chas, not being surprised he was the reason the party felt so stuffy. “We already know all the tricks to this place, they can hardly trick us at this point.”

Though he’s sure Daley will try.

"Oh, and Kieran wanted to invite you two over for dinner," he added, patting his husband on the arm. "Isn't that right?"

If he didn’t love him, Kieran might have killed him right there. His glare siently asked “what the hell are you doing?”

“…Right.” He said through gritted teeth, and forced an insincere smile. “Dinner. I just…fucking love having people over for dinner.”

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
mentions mentions mentions

interactions
Rocco, Jace

, Clara, Daley.

tags

lvcid

º º code by ditto º º

gingersnaps · Jul 18, 2024

Tabitha Cohen

Tabitha tried to image what Mason would’ve looked like attending New York Arts back in the day and had to hold back a giggle. She was not sure who would’ve been more miserable, him or the pretentious peers he’d unavoidably despise.

“You didn’t miss out on much.” Tabitha reassured him, still amused at the thought. She stopped a handsome waiter passing by, taking a glass of Champagne for herself as he listened to her husband’s anxious ramblings. It was sweet, how much he stressed himself out over the kids- it made her smile as she took a sip of her drink, her dark red lipstick leaving a stain on the rim of the glass.

“Holy shit, take a breather, love. I’m sure all that residual coke has gone long down the drain.” Tabitha tried not to chuckle, because it’d probably annoy Mason that she was laughing at his concerns. “The kids will be fine, they’re already fine. Ariana is lovely and smart, and she got all the best from you. Dani…well, she’s very creative in her attempts to torture me, you have to respect her efforts. And our Theo is already pompous and pretentious, so that’s a losing battle. He'll flourish here.”

She ran her fingers through his hair (a soft, reassuring touch, but also the perfect opportunity to fix his hair in the way she likes most) and opened a smile.

“Yeah, they’re a bit fucking crazy, okay, but they’ll be fine, because they have what neither of us did-“ Tabitha took another sip of the Champagne- which was painfully mediocre, she’d have to rip into Chas for that. “Parents who aren’t total psychopaths and who actually give a shit about them. And even we turned out fine.”

Well, 2/3 wasn’t a bad score. Only half of that statement was true for Ari- though Tabitha did what she could to fill the various Adrianne-shaped holes in the girl’s life. She wasn’t the greatest stepmom in the world, and Danica made sure to tell her that often, but the least she could do was offer the eldest girl some kindness when her mother wouldn’t.

Neither Tabitha nor Mason came from particularly loving or stable homes- which was one of the things that initially drew her to him, the number of matching scars they shared. The effects of that manifested differently on her, sure- she did not have any bastard children speak of, for on- but it was still pretty bad. She remembered the grimy situations she used to put herself in…a neglected love-starved girl, always terrified the floor underneath her would turn to air and she’d start free-falling. She’d had more than one meltdown about any of the kids going through the same disasters she did, so of course, she understood Mason’s overprotectiveness.

“Besides, I’d never let Nor murder you. Only if you pissed me off first, then she wouldn’t have to lift a finger.”

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
mentions mentions mentions

interactions
Mason.

tags

Winona

º º code by ditto º º

Soap · Jul 18, 2024

aspiring ~~artist~~ journalist.

Scarlett Fox-Kirby.

west coast

location

gala

outfit

interactions

Dalton, Lydia, Romeo

tags

"Isn't it?" Scarlett said, twirling a strand of her red hair to emphasize his compliment before taking the drink back from him. She could easily get her own liquid death, but everything was far more satisfying when it wasn’t rightfully hers...

Just ask DJ.

Her glance around the room for the brunette made Scarlett swallow her disappointment, returning her attention to Romeo as he basked in it.

An amused smile quickly appeared on her lips. She took a final sip to suppress it and set the drink down on a nearby table. "Head to toe in Armani, or Daddy couldn't afford it?" she said, rolling her eyes. Romeo and Scarlett had an interesting relationship—beyond their cat-and-mouse game, there was a friendship that many couldn't say they had the pleasure of. "You look good," she added with an air of mock nonchalance.

She couldn’t let him get a big head—at least, not any bigger than it already was. He knew he was handsome; it was one of the few things he had going for him. "I think the shirt would go great with the coffin my father’s already picked out for you." Dalton had nothing to worry about with Romeo. Scarlett's eyes were on someone else entirely. Even though she enjoyed Cassius’s company, he was merely a consolation prize at the end of the day.

"He’s watching us right now," she lied, savoring the brief flash of panic on his face. "Oh, relax. Don’t get your panties in a twist." She reached for his tie, tightening it ever-so-slightly with a manicured hand.

"You’re not my type. Worse comes to worst, I’ll tell my father you have an extensive collection of Barbra Streisand albums."

Would he believe her? Probably not—but to be fair, she wasn’t serious to begin with. Their banter was likely the only thing that would get her through the night. "Maybe then we’d be allowed sleepovers." Well, their banter and, hopefully, the actual target of her affection.

Every teenage girl had that one crush.

And Declan Sinclaire-Woods was Scarlett’s.

It was a bad idea. She knew that. The tabloids didn't help matters, nor did the tension between their parents—especially after her mother leaked the story about his past drug abuse. But people change, mistakes are made, and if Scarlett had learned anything from her mother, it’s that taking control of the narrative always works.

All he needed was a push in the right direction, and Scarlett could easily be that for him.

Her gaze swept the room again, growing more impatient by the second.

"Have you seen Declan? He should be around here somewhere—bad press if he doesn’t show up with a parent on the board. But then again, maybe it’s just us who have a penchant for playing by the rules."

Despite her playful tone, there was sincerity in her words. Scarlett had always been obedient—at least with her mother. But it was a pattern she planned to break...

... eventually.

"Well," Scarlett said, narrowing her eyes, "one of us does. Shouldn't you be with your better half? Or are you just that enamored with me?"

Winona · Jul 18, 2024

Atticus Greene

When you were born with a name such as, say, Atticus, well... your future was really written out for you before you even had a chance to object. So of course Atticus was cursed with this darn smart brain, and of course he had a way with words, and of course he loved reading. It was written in stone the moment that his parents named him flipping ATTICUS.

There hadn't even really been a chance for him to rebrand himself. His middle name? Equally as lame. Henry. Any nicknames? Well, what was he gonna go by, huh? Huh? Cussy? Yeah, see, he was doomed, 'cause the only decent enough option was Atti.

Atti might've hated his name, but he'd learned to deal with it. What he hadn't really learned to deal with was the consistent bullying from his barely even that much older siblings, Joey and Emmy. They were relentless in pushing him around and like any bullied main character, Atticus had perfected the only line of defense he had.

Whining. He was really good at whining.

"Your tie looks wonky, sweetheart." His mom said, as she moved forward to fix his tie.

"Mom," he whined, as he fidgeted and pulled away from her, only going to resituate his tie, and causing it to be even wonkier. "Mom this is how the cool kids wear it."

It was not, in fact, how the cool kids wore them.

--------

On the best of days, Atticus was fidgety in the car. On the worst of days, he was extra fidgety in the car. He was seated in the far back, and he'd knocked into Joey's seat at least half a dozen times. And he'd gotten hot, so he'd squeezed his arm through the gap between Joey's seat and the door to roll down the window. But then he'd gotten hot, so he'd done so again to roll it up. And then rolled it down again. And now, he was reaching to roll it up again and--

Joey snatched Atti's wrist, and naturally, Atti went with his only solid line of defense.

"Dad!" he whined, "Dad, Joey's hurting me." Atti then yanked his wrist back, followed by kicking again at Joey's seat.

"He kept touching the button!" Joey yelled back.

"I'm hot and dying back here, Joey." he snapped back.

"Both of you, stop," their dad snapped from the front seat and, with a huff, Atti fell back into his seat with his arms crossed over his chest as their dad went into some stupid little spiel about not fighting and blah, blah, blah--

Life was so unfair, guys, you didn't get it.

------

Once he was freed at the gala, Atticus immediately broke away from his family to head into a gala full of people that he didn't recognize. There was a smile on his face, though, 'cause he was supposed to hangout with his coolest bestie, Reuben. And they were gonna do things that cool boys did--

....

They were gonna find Tessa DuBois, and hangout with her. You didn't get it, guys. She was so pretty and so sweet and so awesome and she thought Atticus was... well not all of those things, but she at the very least, thought Atticus was kind of cool. Which he totally was. Pfft. Who was saying he wasn't?

(He was working on his image.)

"Oh, Ruby," he greeted as he found the man of the hour, Reuben, who'd already found... well, Tessa. And all Atticus could really do at first was smile at her, but then he realized that probably looked really lame and kind of dorky, so he kind of let out a small laugh -- but that also looked so freaking bad.

"H-hey... hey... Tessa," he chuckled. "Fancy... fancy seeing you here. You look really pretty."

(Spoiler: Tessa always looked really pretty.)

He chuckled again, glancing in Reuben's direction as he did. "What're you guys doin'? Anything good happen yet? I saw something 'bout a fight?"

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
mentions mentions mentions

interactions
Reuben, Tessa

tags

0k_mang0

keeruh

º º code by ditto º º

Winona · Jul 19, 2024

Romeo Marino

Romeo had a small smile on his face at her compliment, but that quickly disappeared when she mentioned her dad and a coffin. "Yeah, you told me your dad wouldn't notice if we stole liquor from him, and now look. I'm a wanted man. A dead man." He huffed, a dour frown on his face.

It would be fine. Surely Dalton wouldn't actually murder a kid... right?

(He totally would, but Romeo preferred to live in denial.)

"He’s watching us right now," she said, and Romeo let out a huff. "Oh, relax. Don’t get your panties in a twist."

He sighed, stepping closer to her as she messed with his tie. Romeo really hoped that if Dalton was looking, it wasn't right now. Sure, Romeo and Scarlett had been friends for years, and although Romeo had been intimidated by her dad, he'd never been on Dalton's radar. But now he was, and that was scary.

"You’re not my type. Worse comes to worst, I’ll tell my father you have an extensive collection of Barbra Streisand albums."

He rolled his eyes, as his gaze started to wander once more, and he took another sip from the clearly spiked drink. He knew he should probably inform his dad about it, but... after he'd gotten buzzed enough to handle this gala.

"Maybe then we’d be allowed sleepovers."

That caught his wandering attention, and Romeo's gaze not-so-casually flicked back to her. "Well," he said, "my dad's gone next week on business or something."

Scarlett would never take him up on it, he knew that. But he'd grown accustomed to the whole hanging out alone thing. Totally. That's why he hadn't really had anyone spend the night since the disaster that was fucking Claudia.

An absolute mistake.

"Have you seen Declan? He should be around here somewhere—bad press if he doesn’t show up with a parent on the board. But then again, maybe it’s just us who have a penchant for playing by the rules."

"God no," he snorted. "Why the hell do you even care? That guy sucks, Scar."

The anger he felt in Declan's direction wasn't because of Scarlett's apparent interest in him, but rather... well, maybe Romeo kind of missed the only other friend he'd ever had. You save a guy's life, and he repays you like this.

"Well," Scarlett continued, and he glanced at her, "one of us does. Shouldn't you be with your better half? Or are you just that enamored with me?"

"Hey, I follow all the rules. That's why your dad hasn't killed me yet. He probably saw the award I got in seventh grade for integrity."

(It was one of those awards that pretty much everyone got, but let him have this.)

"I dunno," Romeo admitted. "We... kinda got into it. She was talking with some guy, and he said that we weren't friends and I was an idiot, and... I dunno." He shrugged casually, as if it didn't bother him, but it was something that he couldn't shake. "I mean, we weren't-- you
know, I'm very selective about who I hangout with."

He wasn't.

It was just that he wasn't the most social.

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
mentions mentions mentions

interactions
Scarlett

tags

º º code by ditto º º

Winona · Jul 19, 2024

Mason Rivera

It was kind of stupid, the way that Tabitha was able to calm Mason's constantly boiling temper. He sighed, a bitter frown on his face, even as she brushed her hand through his hair. Because come on -- even if Mason did feel somewhat relaxed by her reassurances, it was Mason, and he could never bend and let that be known.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sure they'll be fine." he grumbled. "But high school is garbage and kids suck, and this school was -- again -- shut down." He sighed, his eyes closing for a brief moment.

It'd be fine, he just needed to remind himself of that. Or at least, Theo and Ari would be fine -- he hoped, anyway. But Dani was always up in the air, a total wildcard that he couldn't control.

He glanced around the party again, moving towards Tabitha's side once more, his arm brushing against hers. "Right, so... tell me about more of your coworkers. I know your boss is Marino, so you're gonna come home every day pissed off because a pint-sized bitch is trying to tell you how to do shit."

Yeah, he didn't like Chas, either. Surprise surprise.

mood
mood mood mood

location
location location location

outfit
outfit outfit outfit

playing...
song title

by artist

mentions
mentions mentions mentions

interactions
Tabitha

tags