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Realistic or Modern Newcastle (Open!!)

Characters
Here
Juliette Jameson
brutal


Nickie's place
LOL
I look good, so.
interactions

Nickie
@ditto

“You’re going to get, like, breast cancer and die from doing that, I read it online. Like, it’s a big deal-io.”

“If I die, I die. You get whatever’s in the will, congrats whore.” Jules usually wasn’t so morbid, but… okay, fine, she was but never really about herself. Maybe she was in terms of like, mentioning going to hell or whatever, but that was mainly for just the hell of saying it. It’s not like she believed she actually was going to get cancer and die, become roommates with Satan and all that shit.

Thankfully Nickie agreed with her that Castor was hot enough. Not that Jules needed her approval or anything, but it felt good enough to have it– what did it mean since Nickie’s taste was literal garbage? Nothing but JJ felt a little more at ease knowing that she wasn’t the only one who thought he was attractive.

“He’s hot, Not, like, Hunter hot, but, like, hot. But, like…I’ve never even seen him. Who even is he? Is he, like, new? In our grade? What?”

She took the blunt from her, shaking her head with a shrug. “Apparently he’s been in town for three years– and I’ve never met him?! With my luck he’s probably a drug dealer.”

It didn't make sense how he just flew under their radar, but they’ve both been busy with other boys. Nickie clearly busier than Juliette but beyond boys– she had dance.

Which was… the only other thing JJ took seriously other than potential boyfriends.

“We really do, like, literally always get with the worst fucking guys, don’t we? I mean, like…let’s just start with the Brewers, right? Like, you cannot say that was anything but a…”

They spoke simultaneously, filling in the blank of Nickie's sentence.

“Fuck up on our end, yeah."

“Shitstorm.”

“Same thing.”

“Oliver’s brother probably wasn’t bad as Oliver…”

“Disagree. You’re not the one who dated him, but… I mean…”

“I mean, like…it was…good while it lasted, for the most part, I guess. But the ending was shit.”

"Don't remind me." She held up a hand, her stomach started to swirl as the memories threatened to resurface. Since the ending was shit, it sort of made the entire thing worthless? It wasn't even like one of those super hot experiences in like The Vampire Diaries-- Juliette could've dated and been kissed by so much better than a couple of losers.

While it was… some sort of ego-boost that Nickie’s boyfriend at the time liked JJ, it wasn’t something she was gonna brag about– both of the Brewer boys were pathetic. Their annual ‘birthday bash’ freshman year proved to be the worst birthday she’s ever had.

Or well, they’ve ever had since they’ve been sharing parties together since they were four. Their families just decided it was a good way for the girls to get closer and have some kind of excuse to be around each other since tension tended to float around their parents.

“Then, I dated fucking…Edwin…”

Evie’s brother who she wasn’t a fan of. He was the lesser Sinclaire. A whiny, short, boring and inexperienced boy was the last thing Nickie needed.

“Apparently, Mom really liked us, I guess…and then, I…well, I guess I just fucked Damien. And, like…all except for Damien, I mean, like…I loved them, you know? I just, like…picked the fucking worst, you know?”

“I just want someone good, JJ,”

Me too.

“I think Hunter would be, like…good to me. Or, you know, like, good for me.” Nickie sighed, JJ’s gaze scrutinizing her features and she fell silent.

It was the weed.

Had to be.

"If you say so..."

Because Juliette didn’t have the energy to crush her dreams about Hunter Drake being the worst potential boyfriend she could scout out for herself and it was a reminder to stray away from the drug altogether.. She took another long drag, turning her head away from Nickie to blow out the smoke away from her face.

“You know, I come out here to cry,”

JJ sputtered a laugh.

“What?” She questioned, waiting for Nickie to continue.

“It’s, like…just a nice spot for that, and, like…I would take Nelson’s Swiss Army knife sometimes and…”

She ran a hand around the carvings in the tree and Juliette had only now noticed them as she pointed them out. Shaking her head with disappointment– but again, she didn’t really say anything. Nickie already knew the disasters that were her relationships.

“I just…want some heart I carve to actually…be true, you know? I don’t know. Maybe I’m just high.”

Maybe she was? She doesn’t remember the last time they talked for so long about something other than the latest gossip. It felt weird.

“No, yeah… I get it. I mean I didn’t do something as pathetic as carving initials into a tree, but…” She teased, handing the blunt back to Nickie with a heavy sigh.

She did get it... just in a different sense.

Juliette didn’t want another failed relationship, JJ didn’t want to carve a heart with some initials into the tree outside her window, Jules just wanted…

She just wanted to be wanted.

It wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

“I can’t believe I dated Dex.”

Even if Oliver hadn’t kissed her freshman year– Felix still would’ve broken up with her. Even if her parents didn’t force Dex and Jules into a relationship, they still wouldn’t have worked. There was no passion– no lust– no… nothing.

He wasn’t even a bad guy. He was just a fucking idiot. An idiot with a heart and as much as Juliette could love that, she couldn’t ever fall for someone who wouldn’t fall for her back.

It made sense on paper. Cheer captain and this popular, hot-ish guy on the football team. It was set up by their parents and… no matter how much Jules tried to make it work. There was just nothing there. They barely even kissed.

It barely even lasted a month, but she refused to spend a birthday not in a relationship.

“Pretty sure he’s gay by the way. I think he’s all hot for Chelsea. Guarantee you he’s carved his own heart with their initials.” They were sitting here, in a tree– high off of some blunt that one of the Darringtons had given to JJ, and they were talking about their failed relationships.

Damien, Oliver, Felix, Ed, Dex, and fucking Hunter Drake were the topic of their conversation.

Jules adjusted herself a bit closer to Nickie, moving one leg to look at the other carved initial.

“DA + BJ 4evr.”

She forgot about Justin.

…

All of a sudden, Juliette broke into a fit of giggles, her stomach started to ache from laughter and she struggled to catch her breath. “Ow, I can’t– I can’t.”

“Nickie, Nicks,” She snorted, placing a hand on her chest as if that’d help some of the laughter to die down.

She wasn’t sure if it was the drugs, or if reality was setting in, but… this was probably the hardest Jules had laughed in years.

Literally years.

“We’re–” She struggled to get out in between small fits of giggles. “so–”

“Depressing, oh my god– we wanted southern assholes, boys with mommy issues, Evie’s little brother, an idiot, and a boy with donkey tee–” She couldn’t even finish her insult and broke into another fit.

Her eyes were watering and she knew it wasn’t because of the drugs. A tear rolled and she took a deep breath, attempting to get herself under control and she glanced back at Nickie’s face which had just made her laugh even harder.

Juliette and Nickie were known as– she couldn’t actually remember what they were known as, but they were not loved in the ugly, drug-ridden, teenage parenthood landfill that was known as Newcastle.

The fact that she was continuing to go on and on wasn't helping her fit of laughter.

“Nobody even likes us–we’re bitches.”

But that--

That was the cherry on top.
coded by natasha.
 
Raven Rivera
Newcastle Post
C’mon, can’t say no to this face
something casual
interactions

hery hery

The disappointment was evident in her eyes when Kira had shut down her idea to interview the church. The town was too interested in the mayor’s campaign which barely earned any attention from Raven. With a roll of her eyes she went silent and decided not to push Kira any further.

Thirty dollars for those photos down the drain.

Some kid swindled her out of thirty bucks for some half-decent photos. Could’ve been better– but she had to admit that the kid had enough brain to get a pretty good amount out of her.

"Fine, Raven, Go talk to Peterson and Fritz. If you haven't been listening, they've been going on about some story at the mayor's office all morning. Maybe do some recon or something."

“Tsk,” Her tongue clicked in annoyance and she sighed, standing up from Kira’s desk and placing the manila folders back to their original spot, revealing a pair of reading glasses that Raven didn’t bother sliding her way, instead covering them with one of the files in a desperate attempt to make the brunette give up on paperwork altogether.

Raven bowed dramatically for an exit, walking away from her and towards the other desks, picking up a bunch of meaningless conversations, tuning out phone calls, the sound of the fax machine and the typing of a mechanical keyboard that was… entirely too loud.

She assumed that Kira’s comment was just to get her out of there, because when she glanced back at her– she was already wasting her life away on paperwork, squinting and muttering under her breath.

“Recon,” She repeated her words. “Okaaaayyyy…” Raven roamed around to where Peterson and Fritz were in a heated conversation– not wanting to introduce herself into the conversation as of yet, she slowly wandered around the other desks, pretending to be interested in a few knick knacks on Jackson’s desk.

They were ridiculously expensive bobbleheads of celebrities.

“So you can’t get an interview with her?” Peterson said, his gravely voice possessed a sense of seriousness she hadn’t heard in the few months she’s been working here.

Peterson and Fritz were The Post’s best writers— so they thought anyway.

A little compliment or two from ten years ago goes a long way, apparently.

“No, she’s refusing anything–” Fritz started, the younger of the two, though still old to compare to Raven, both men were past thirty and had probably wasted countless lifetimes writing the same scandals that held no meaning.

“Did you offer–”

“Yeah I offered. She says she can’t.”

Can’t? Can’t or won’t?

They looked her way and Raven offered a smile, swiftly reaching into her back pocket and pulling a pen from behind her ear.

“Coffee orders?”

“Uh, no thanks. We’re good.”

Jackson had returned to his desk with a heavy breath, flopping back onto his chair with a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead.

That was common with him.

She noticed more than she would’ve liked to around here.

“You’re getting coffee? Nice. I’ll have…”

Raven completely tuned out his order as she pretended to write it down. Deciding since she was here already– might as well go old-school and jot down whatever Peterson and Fritz were talking about. Their quotes revolved around question marks.

“So what, she signed an NDA?”

“Could’ve. We just have to figure out why. Other employees said she was decent at her job— and there hasn’t been any talk about her stepping down.”

“She’s a political consultant, what if she consulted something she wasn’t supposed to?”

What?

It was clear that Fritz wasn’t the smart one of the pair.

“We need answers, not speculation. Who do you think we are? Dayton Daily?”

“They’re holding a press conference today, if we finish up here quickly we could make it, see if we can get that interview—“

“Eh, wanna get lunch?”

“Thanks, kid.” Jonathan’s voice interrupted the two men talking, who then exchanged glances at each other and wordlessly returned to work.

Raven’s forced smile dimmed a little, her eyes narrowing at his thank you.

She could never win. Raven was deemed “too old & boring” by her peers still in high school and seen as “too young & innocent” around here. She couldn’t wrap her head around that for the life of her– if it wasn’t the piercings, then it was the tattoos that her body was riddled with that usually gave them the idea that she was… a little… rough around the edges for the more wealthier people in town.

Not that she cared… but working from LUX to being an intern in a media company filled with older men and the occasional female journalist that’d dim her dreams of ever becoming one with a yawn and shoving herself in endless amounts of paperwork…

It had the occasional whiplash.

“Uh huh.”

He wasn’t getting that coffee.

~

“Annabeth Perkins.” Raven said, leaning against the desk and gently plucking the folder out of Kira’s hand, placing it back onto the table.

“Political consultant stepping down? Wrongfully fired? Starting up a lawsuit? Who knows?” The brunette handed her the pocket-sized journal, riddled with their conversations with minor notes beside their quotes.

“Let’s find out. They’re having a press conference about it today— we try to get some questions out of her, maybe get her alone?”

If the church was lacking interest, surely politics was the talk of the town— let’s be honest, probably not with the crowd she usually ran with… but…

It’s just as Kira said, everyone was too interested in the mayor’s campaign to care about anything else.

And a scandal breaking out in his workplace? It was too big of a story to pass up.

Raven crossed her arms, a shrug rising to her shoulders.

“Peterson and Fritz aren’t even planning on going,” her voice lowered at her next words in worry that someone would pick up their conversation.

“We get the story, we get the credit and we both move on up at the sleepless post.”

The desperation was practically seeping off of her with every word. The craving for a story— for experience, and more importantly a distraction.

“No more practical paperwork.”

And Annabeth Perkins sounded like the perfect woman to provide that.

This just in; words are better than sex.

“You should probably keep up the pilates though, the girls here swear you spend a lot of time on your back.”
coded by natasha.
 


















good morning...





In a flash of white, Dex's vision was assaulted with a very, very weakened version of his best friend.
Unshaven, unwashed, and miserable, Chelsea had made it clear that he wasn't expecting nor interested in accommodating visitors. But most normal things weren't clear to Dex.

"You look like Val the morning after her Sweet Sixteen," the towering boy remarked, promptly ignoring Chelsea's explanation, "You need me. I'm coming in." Holding on tight to his grocery bag, Dex forced the door wide open and slipped through. Making himself at home, he headed straight for the kitchen and set his bearings down on the counter. It was a really nice place, and the only dining area he was more comfortable in than his front porch.

And while the contents of his bag spilled over onto the counter and dangerously adjacent to a glass on the edge, Dex had already turned his full attention to the refrigerator. Leftovers, produce, condiments... everything his bachelor bad fridge was lacking. "What's for lunch?" he called out, sorting through the neatly-stacked tupperware hidden behind the milk carton. Like someone knew to hide the good stuff. But Dex was one step ahead.

Before he made his choice, however, the curly-haired teen's attention returned to his secondary objective, which was nursing his poor, sweet friend back to health. "Quick, quick, open your present!" he demanded, the childish excitement he was known for bursting out of his innocent eyes. There had to be something in the junk bag that was useful; Dex loosely recalled slipping a granola bar or two between the soy sauce packets. After all, fiber is the cure to everything.

And while his invitation to inspect the bag was open, he moved on to the next item on his agenda. It was his magical, bi-weekly "Going to Chelsea's Place" itinerary. There had even been talks of moving in together. As in Dex talking in his sleep, but talks nonetheless.

"Hey, also, where's Mer?" His heel turned on a 360, noting that the place seemed to be devoid of any and all presences besides that of CK, which was about as material as a specter's at the moment. "Isn't she usually here around this time?" Chelsea always answered too slow. Dex had already come up with his own explanation. "She's not... she's not with a boy, is she?"

It couldn't be. Dex's breathing grew shallow, his curiosity growing tenfold. "No... stop it. Who is it? It's not..." Dramatic pause. "Drake, is it?" This was huge. This was huge! Dex couldn't be prouder.






























twilight












♡coded by uxie♡

 
Logan Cruz
location here
tired
clothes
interactions

Maverick jazzyball jazzyball
Logan had never been bad at something -- she'd always excelled at everything no matter what she did, or at least in academics. Sure, she'd had to work her ass off, but she'd done really well.

Most of it had stuck with her without too much work, but when it came to this... parenting thing, well, she just couldn't figure out what to do. It felt like nothing she did actually worked, and Axel was just always fussy. She'd tried reading things, but she was so exhausted from Axel constantly crying throughout the night. It was always... in one ear and out the other.

Even as she stood here in the baby aisle of the store, one hand resting in the car seat on Axel's stomach as he whimpered away for... god knows what, her eyes started to grow heavy. The dirty tile floors of the grocery store started to look awfully inviting as her eyebrows drew together, and struggled to focus on the products in front of her.

But as she was looking, someone walked up by her and grabbed something from the shelves in front of her. She mumbled some kind of apology, and started to push her cart out of the way before he dropped something into her cart. Confused, her eyebrows drew together as she looked at the guy.

Whiskey...?

It took a moment for the words to register in her head.

"Isn't that like... bad?" Logan asked. "And like... really illegal?"

Well, she had been looking at becoming a lawyer.

However... the lack of sleep was really starting to get to her, and if it would settle a fussy baby, then so be it. She glanced at Axel, then back at Maverick.

"How am I even supposed to get it? I'm not twenty-one."
coded by natasha.
 
Oliver Brewer
some shop
=D
clothes
interactions

Miyu Miaow Miaow
There was a moment of silence between the two when she'd looked up at him, and he'd kind of smiled and given her a little wave of his hand. Except that she didn't say anything like she actually remembered who he was, or anything at all, and Oliver felt a little awkward.

Did he just walk away now, or did he attempt conversation?

A little awkward chuckle, his smile not faltering, as he tried to speak -- he made sure to speak kind of slower, pronouncing his words clearly so Miyu (hopefully) wouldn't have a hard time keeping up with what he was saying.

"Hey, it's me, Oliver," he said, as if she didn't who he was, and he placed a hand on his chest when he said his name. "What're you ahh... well, fancy seeing you here. Didn't know you like ahh... you know... boo spooky witchy... coveny... stuff."

He chuckled, realizing that his words had made little sense. Obviously she did if she was here, and then it was kind of like oh, well, Oliver, why're you here? And really it was just because he was bored, but also because he'd always been a little interested in some of the things that went on around the shop, but more so just because of the first point -- and also because he'd rather be anywhere than at home with his dad and stepmom.

"Do you wanna hang?" Oliver asked. "Are you ahh... ya know, busy?"
coded by natasha.
 
Nathan Woods
gas station
........
clothes
interactions

Mike @ditto
Mike's words jerked Nate out of his reverie. He blinked at his friend, listening as he spoke -- about needing to get with someone else... about how hot he was, about how Evie wasn't worth it... about everything.

It was hard. Like a knife twisting in his heart. Sure, he'd been with... a couple other... people after his breakup with Evie, but it hadn't... felt... the same. He'd just assumed it was bad sex, but it was starting to feel more like it was just his choice of nightly companion.

Was it really that wrong of him to still be caught up on some chick, even when she clearly still wanted him?

(He wasn't actually sure of this point, but he really hoped he was right. Call him a simp all you wanted.)

It wasn't something he wanted to keep talking about, though, so Nate gave a chuckle and a nod of his head. "Right..." he said, and he reached forward, grabbing a piece of chicken out of the bucket.

Best way to get Mike off the topic? Try and act normal or some shit.

After all, he apparently had a kid that he wasn't accepting responsibility for. That kind of didn't exactly scream great person to be giving relationship advice, so... yeah, Nate was going to do what he always did with Mike. Take everything that his buddy said with a grain of salt.

"That was fun," Nate agreed, a faint smile crossing his face as he reminisced on his time in high school. Times then had just felt... so much simpler, so much more relaxed, and he felt a bitter aching in his heart for the days when life didn't feel like it was constantly kicking when he was down.

"We could do that," he said as he took a bite of the chicken. "Me, you, couple packs of beer..." he sighed, "sounds like the perfect way to get over a couple chicks that got nothing better to do than fucking hound us, huh?"
coded by natasha.
 
Brody Jesson
boat
cool cool cool
blue swim shorts
interactions

Sydney @ditto
Justin watched with a mildly impressed look on his face as Sydney chugged the can of beer... although he became less impressed when Syd had finished, and he'd taken to burping a ton, and kind of looked like his eyes were watering. Ah, poor kid tried so hard to keep up with the cool kids and pretend like he had any kind of alcohol tolerance.

He was kind of smiling as he watched Syd, 'cause his friend was really weird, and it was a little odd that he'd found himself friends with two people that were so different from himself. Amy and Syd... they were nearly the total opposite of Justin, and yet he'd call them his best friends without any hesitation.

"Bro," Justin responded, feigning offense at Syd's words. "Almost died... I totally fucking won that. Give me at least a little bit of credit, 'kay?" He said with a scoff as he shook his head, and turned back towards the ocean. His hands came to rest on his hips as he tried to find some kind of marker in the water for them to race towards, although it was kind of a pointless idea.

Obviously Brody was going to win. His grandpa liked to joke that he was half-fish since he'd always been a fast swimmer. And he could also hold his breath for about two minutes, and he'd always won every who could hold their breath the longest contests.

"'Kay," he started and pointed out towards a buoy that was maybe a hundred feet or so from their boat. It was floating between them and the shore of the beach. "We race to that, touch it, and then swim back. First person to make it back wins, and we just keep same rules? Loser's gotta buy beers next time?" He asked, although the boy already knew what his friend's answer was gonna be, so he held his hand out.

"May the best man win," Justin said, giving a firm shake, and then he let go of Syd's hand and didn't hesitate to dive off the boat and plunge into the depths of the ocean.
coded by natasha.
 
Ashton West
beach commercial thingy
booo work
clothes
interactions

Viv jazzyball jazzyball
The high she'd had from the fun at the Fourth of July party could only last so long. Because, of course, it wasn't long before she'd been plunged back into the working world. Photoshoots, commercials, interviews, music -- all of it all day every day left a lot to be desired, and Ash was near her tipping point.

Perhaps she wouldn't have had such a short fuse for this stuff if she was being chauffeured around and managed by anyone other than her freaking mother -- yeah, talk about embarrassing.

Earlier that day, they'd even had a photoshoot where her mother tried to argue with the photographer. Insisting on... stupid whatever. That her makeup made her look like a clown, or the poses made her look fat, or whatever else. At some point, she always just stopped listening and instead would take to scrolling through her phone.

Eventually, the shoot was (thankfully) ended, and Ash had thought that was it for the day. And she was so totally ready to go home and chill for a couple hours, and then she'd go out... somewhere that night. No, she never really had it planned, but it was easy enough to head out or message someone and figure out where some kind of open invitation party was being held. And since her mother was trying so hard to keep her from everyone and everything, well... it meant that those were pretty much her only chances at getting any kind of socialization.

Or, well, at these photoshoots and other oh so important career things.

Instead, it turned out that there was another one. Just one more her mother had promised her, and no amount of groaning and begging from Ash was able to turn her mother off of it.

So here they were, entering yet another job for the day. This one, at least, happened to be on the beach. It was for... makeup or something, and Ash was supposed to be doing it alongside some other girl. Vivian Roysten? Some champion surfer, although Ash certainly didn't keep up with whoever was famous when it came to surfing, so the name was embarrassingly lost on her.

(So yeah, she'd done a little Googling in the car so she didn't seem like a total freaking bitch.)

As she broke away from her mother (who was probably going off to yell at someone over nothing), Ash's eyes scanned the crowd for the girl. Vivian. Eventually, her gaze fell on the girl in question, and she decided to approach her. Best to know someone at least a little bit before attempting to shoot with them, after all.

"Vivian?" She asked as she approached, and she gave a smile, holding a hand out to shake. "I'm Ash. West."
coded by natasha.
 
MOOD: being the only adult in the room (sort of)

OUTFIT:
casual stripe button day
​
INFO
LOCATION: Empireo-Curio

WITH: mercedes

mention: deo​
ACTIVITY
Soap Soap
TAGS
Matty O. Manzano
Dear Life


On a quiet early afternoon in Empireo-Curio Warehouse, the local peculiar antique store of Newcastle, two teenaged boys were situated behind a long checkout counter that lay adjacent on the left side of the store. There were fourteen boxes of assorted sizes on the floor and on the counter; half of them were open and held nothing but foam peanuts, crumpled bubble wraps, and other packaging cushions. The area wasn’t messy, but not entirely tidied either.

The older teen with the bleached blonde short hair was inspecting a short engraved slim blade with a long groove in the middle. Its hilt was made of ivory, decorated with a touch of gold-bronze and a matching curved guard. The edges were smooth and blunt, but he noticed they tapered midway into a sharp thin line to the top end.

“Yo, Matty, is this a real knife?” Deo twirled it lazily in his hand once, then twice, and thunk, he stabbed the harmless countertop. An inch or two of the metal tip sunk into the wooden surface. When he let go of the hilt, the weapon stood up by itself in its place, perfectly still. “Sweet.”

Matty exhaled a quiet exasperated sigh, dropping his pencil on the page was reading from the leatherbound ledger. For the umpteenth time, he wished he could’ve traveled more in Europe for the rest of summer. “It’s a 19th-century British naval officer dagger, and the previous owner said it’s only sharp at the tip.” He plucked out the old weapon, which left a visible thin cut on the surface. At least his uncle had already planned to renovate it soon. “So quit stabbing stuff,” Matty chided, sternly pointing the dagger toward Deo, who instinctively took one step back even though he was quite safely out of its reach.

“Wait… isn’t today your day off?” Matty asked, slipping the dagger back into its black leather sheath.

“Yeah.”

“Why are you here?”

Deo shrugged. “Got bored at home.”

They heard the doorbell ring echoing delicately from the store’s entrance to their spot. They couldn’t see past the tall furniture and shelves to easily see who had entered, but they heard the voice clearly enough. “Anyone home? Or… hard at work?”

“Wow, someone really just said that.” Deo snickered under his breath until Matty roughly probed his shoulder with the gilded brass pommel of the sheathed dagger before setting it down on a small cushioned box.

“Over to the left,” Matty called back. To Deo, he dismissed him to go have lunch somewhere or something. Before he could react, the fake blond boy swiped Matty’s half-finished box of chocolate Pocky that was left unsupervised on the counter and hopped out of the high schooler's reach, moving toward the exit.

“Enjoy being hard at work,” Deo said in a low voice to Matty, who noted the subtle teasing tone that he didn’t fully understand..

“Asshole,” he muttered, shaking his head. A short moment later he forced himself to drop his glower when he saw the visitor approaching.

“Hey,” he greeted Mercedes from behind the checkout counter. He was a bit surprised to see her. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her Empireo-Curio before—he’d presumed old antique shops weren’t a part of her interests, or anyone else like her. “Do you need help with anything here?”
code by valen t.
 


















good morning...





Addie was pissed, but at least she wasn't "jab a heel in a man's eye socket" pissed anymore.
He was grateful for that, because she didn't have to go so easy on him. Of course, the girl was still dead set on making him regret his life's decisions. “New to what?” she asked, “New to learning that my fucking boyfriend is a druggie? Yeah, I’m kind of new to that. You’re doing a bang-up fucking job of showing me the ropes, though.”

And though Benji was scared shitless, even if she had just called him a word he despised like no other, he laughed. This was one hell of a trip, and he wasn't even that kind of high. His nostrils flared and his eyes shut halfway, but he listened all the same.

“We’ve both got our fucking secrets. We know that — we knew that coming into this fucking relationship. I knew that, Benji, and I never stopped fucking knowing that. That was half of the fucking appeal." Well, good to know he wasn't crazy. He had to admit that verbally acknowledging the structure of their relationship was like nothing he'd ever done before. It wasn't a common feat to make it this far. "We were hot people who fucked and went out on dates and were still practically strangers so that, in the end, when things all went to shit, or when we got tired of it, we could drop each other and nothing would be fucking lost. I’m not new to that fucking concept."

By this point, Benji was seated on the floor crisscross-applesauce. It almost felt like a therapeutic yoga circle, like it would be his turn to share his feelings when Addie was done speaking. He hoped she would never finish. “If you’ll remember, I was the one who fucking asked you to be my boyfriend,” she added with a deep sigh, taking the time to gaze at her ASMR-ready nails, “But this is more than that, Benji.”

His heart lurched. "Right..." Her reasoning was infallible as always, but hearing those words spoken into his ear sent a shuddering chill down his spine. "But just so we're clear, we asked each other out. Give me some credit." Yet somehow, he could tell his comedic timing fell on deaf ears. AJ continued without pause.

“I’m not asking you to, like, tell me all of your fucking secrets, because I would never do the fucking same.” How brave of her. “But I fucking know this now, Benjamin. There’s no fucking taking back what I saw. Yelling at me for finding this out is…fucking unhinged, and acting like it’s a fucking impossible for you to…” She didn't finish that. Benji's arms were crossed like a child on timeout. She knew what he was going to say; every protest was written all over his face.

So they didn't argue it. “Fuck it,” she said, practically throwing her hands in the air before laying beside Benji on the floor, “What’s the point?” Her arms were neatly folded over her stomach, because she simply had to be ready for a photoshoot at any given moment. She was probably expecting one today, too, before everything. The much taller man smiled fondly, restraining himself from running his fingers through her soft, blonde hair. They were fucked up, but at least now they were fucked up together.

And though he shouldn't have taken it as a good sign that her prior fervor had been extinguished, it was a momentary respite. Still smiling, he adjusted himself from crisscross to laying on his side, propping his head up with his hand. And down he stared, watching every little sentiment pass through AJ's face like shooting stars. Even in their darkest hour, her allure was just as compelling.

Her eyes fluttered open and shut. She was bordering right on the edge of peace, but she wouldn't take a rest until her point was made. “I really shouldn’t fucking care this much. So what? You’re acting like I’m fucking crazy, Benji." Ahem... "So what, though? What would you fucking do if you found out I was, like, fucking popping pills on the side when you literally told your own fucking mom that I was nothing like that?”

He merely shrugged and giggled. "You wouldn't. Opioids tend to cause dry skin," he pointed out, leaning in closer, "Loss of appetite, constipation..." Their faces were mere inches apart, a method of flirting that had become commonplace since that one night. Innocently, a hand grazed the girl's thigh. "Sexual dysfunction..." His grin grew wider as he closed his eyes and drew in for a kiss.

“I’m not fucking new to this, Benji,” she snapped, verbally shooing Benji away. “If you recall, I dated Mason fucking Rivera." A nasty scowl formed on his face, and his mole frowned with him. "The only thing that I know more about him than the other people who know him is how good he is in bed, and even then, half of the fucking female population knows that. He was good on my arm, I was good on his, and it pissed off my mom and my friends. That was all that was important, and all that still is important.”

He hated having to hear manwhore Mason's name brought up every five seconds; something about him had this town positively entranced and he couldn't stand it, especially when he was essentially Benji's predecessor in this scenario. He readied himself to respond, putting on a facetious smirk to mask the envy that had burrowed deep within. "What? So I'm your Mason?" He wanted to gag just suggesting the notion.

AJ sat up, seemingly out of a realization that was lost on Benji. “And now, I fucking found out this, and I can’t stop from caring just a fucking little bit,” she said, and Benji shrugged in a wordless suggestion that this was, indeed, fate. “You think I fucking wanted to find this out, Benji? Like I was just, like, fucking thinking on the way up there that I wanted to find out about my boyfriend’s fucking drug habit?” She sighed. “I’m just saying now that if you hide it, it’s just going to fucking piss me off more.” Risking no argument, he nodded to show his firm understanding.

Okay, so now that that was all out in the open, who was going to heat the spoon?

“We’ve both got skeletons we hide,” she said perhaps with the most clarity to come out of either of the two, “I’ve seen more of yours now than I ever really fucking wanted to. But now that I have, as much as I would love to pretend I never saw it…” She looked him in the eyes again, offering no chance to dodge her scrutinizing gaze. “I can’t trick myself into being a fucking idiot, okay?”

He nodded again, being the excellent listener he was. Despite all the secrets and flaws, they really did make a convincingly strong couple. No one else had to know about this, surely not their parents. Of course, the price of these manipulative talents was the fear of being consumed by each other's untruths. Benji would have to do a better job of hiding his demons going forth now that some layer of trust had been broken between them. But interestingly, that breach worked two ways...

In his haze, Benji hardly noticed Addie's finger tracing the angled features of his face. At first, it felt hesitant, but her hand seemed to guide itself out of a muscle memory derived from the boyfriend she had formerly come to know. Even laying on his side, looking like he just might melt into the floor at any moment, he was still the same man who had managed to insert himself into the center of her brain like a persistent gnat. They were both drunk when they met. How was this any different?

“Is that too much to fucking ask?” she concluded, and Benji let out a low, breathy sigh as their bodies gravitated closer. “We mix like fire and fucking gasoline. We both fucking know it. A little extra dousing won’t do shit in the long run, hm.” For better or for worse, a border had been crossed. It was an entirely new feeling... and it was exciting. “I am still really fucking pissed, though,” she added, but too quietly to sound immediately threatening. “Really, really fucking pissed.”

He, too, finally sat up straight, reaching a hand to gently lower AJ's wrist. He guided it downward, slowly, then ran his coarse fingertips along her arm. His body was tensed to limit his tremors, but they were still just barely present. Their eyes met again, and he laughed softly. "Then let's burn this word to ashes," he proclaimed theatrically, giggling as he bent forward to kiss her neck, "At least we're not a cliché."

With his free arm gliding up the length of Addie's dress, Benji was reminded to be mindful of the extensive amount of time she had likely put into her appearance for this date. All for him, who could manage to land a girl while strung out on the couch. Mere minutes ago, they had been screaming and fighting, but like the flick of a switch, an ardent, impulsive passion lured Benji back in.

His voice was sultry and silk-smooth, reduced to a mere murmur. "Come on, before the comedown..." She couldn't stay that angry. Not when his head rest on her shoulder, not as his hand moved even further—

Doo, doo doo doodoo-doodoodoodoodoo! Doo, doo doo...!

There was a sudden fit of buzzing on the floor just as the happy-go-lucky tune of Benji's cell phone began unceasingly pouring out. With an immediate glare, the drug dealer backed his head away and swung his head around like a swivel chair. His hands traveled across the floor until, finally, he spotted his phone behind Addie. Without warning, he mouthed a quick apology and reached an arm over to secure the loudly singing object.

He cocked his head to the side looking over the incoming call, reading the displayed name three times in his head until dubiously rasping, "Huh?"

Jade Jennings would like to FaceTime...

He gave his girlfriend an equally confused look, his eyes darting from his instinctively-hidden phone to the already-disappointed girl. If it was Jade calling, it couldn't be anything good. She knew today was his super-strict off day and he had already reprimanded her about her behavior once over text. Lately, the wild girl had seriously been flying off the handle and by god, Benji was sure she was going to get herself killed.

But did she have to do it today?

It was between his girl and his client in need and, while Benji knew better than to test her any further, what choice did he have? "Shit, Addie, hang on. This is important."

The sound was muffled when he picked up the call, but he could recognize Jade's slurred voice clear as day. "Oh fuck off, Little Suzie Homemaker. No one gives a shit about your crotch gremlins," it spoke, leaving Benji to raise a brow and look upward. Of course it was on speaker. He sent Addie a coy, apologetic smile, which was of course accented with his freshly-high aura.

"Jade? Jade, I'm busy, why did you call—"

"And at least I'd fucking give more of a shit about my kid than harassing some random drunk bitch on the swing, you fucking skank."

In any other circumstance, Benji would have laughed, but Adeline was, like, right there. And the thought of Jade drunk and alone at a park somewhere was a bit more pressing.

"That’s it. You’re going to jail," a secondary voice hissed, sending shivers down Benji's spine. Who was she talking to? What if she had a gun, what if... oh, for fuck's sake. Worse, all he could see on the screen was the bottom of a bench and some blurred movement, which was almost definitely his client's ass. Was he going to get in trouble for this?

"Jade!" the dealer shouted into the phone, tugging at his sweater. Shit, it was hot in the living room. "Hello? What the fuck are you doing!"

The girl's distant voice called out, “Ooo. If you wanted me in handcuffs, all you had to do was ask.” Benji winced, sending one last uncertain glance to AJ.

Stifling an astonished laugh, Benji mouthed, "I don't know what's happening." If that was even going to be enough for her.

"It's okay to admit that your husband isn't fucking you good enough, Suze. I'd be more than happy to...fill in," Jade continued, and Benji contemplated hanging up the phone right there. But something was off and god fucking dammit, no matter how shitty of a person he was, he couldn't just shove that feeling in the back of his head.

Christ—

"Fucking hell, Jade, hello?" he shouted, his tired, scratchy voice rising to new heights of vigor, "Answer me now or I'm blocking your ass permanently!"

The camera shifted, and it finally landed on Jade's very inebriated face. "BENNY BOYYYYYY, WHERE ARE YOU MANNNN. YOU'RE MISSING ALL THE ACTION!!!" Swiftly, he flashed it at Adeline to show that he wasn't going insane. Then, he turned the phone back to his very angry, very confused face.

"I'm with my fucking girl, Jade, why are you causing shit right now?" he reprimanded the girl, squeezing his eyes shut and opening them wide. His head was swimming, dammit, and his attention was impossible to focus on what was important. "Are you fucking wasted at the park? Who are you with? Did that lady say she was gonna..." Could he not catch a fucking break around here?

With no time to waste, Benji quickly addressed AJ. "Well, while we're being honest..." No, now wasn't the time to get into the whole "drug dealing" thing. If Benji heard right, they were on a clock. After a moment of deliberation, he tapped his cell's mute button. "Listen, I told you my job is around the clock and this is it. She's at the fucking park, wasted..." He shuddered, a drug-induced shock shooting up his spine. "Probably about to get picked up and thrown in a fucking holding cell and... god knows what else." But the first thing in his mind was the fact that his name would be at the very top of Jade's call log, the kiss of death for an honest plug.

This was another reminder that no pleasure is without its price. Textbook spiritualist shit. "I think I recognize which park she's at, but I'm not driving like this." She had to know what he meant, even if he didn't like the degrading implication. "Adeline, I'd do a-anything for you." Shudder, gasp. The high was still... very high. "Now, if you meant half the shit you said, all I need you to do is trust me."

Without waiting, he unmuted his phone and shouted into it, "Jade, stay put! I'm coming, okay? I've got..." He glanced at Addie. This was hopeless. "I got what you asked me for! Why don't you go... take a nap in a bathroom stall, kay? I'll be right there." God, he was looking forward to being out of this business. And hopefully by the time that happened, childless.






























partyisntover












♡coded by uxie♡

 
@ p r i n c e s a
location
romantic resturant duh.
outfit
it's in the gif bc im lazy
interactions
jared Kitsune2202 Kitsune2202
Valerie Flores ~ 19

From a young age, Valerie Flores had been practically conditioned to believe that love was measured by…well, money. It was no surprise. She’d watched her parents' marriage, and it was more so filled with materialistic things than actual love or affection. So while Val loved big romantic gestures, the fact was she was looking more into how much you did and what you spent rather than the meaning behind it.

Her father was always buying gift after gift, handing over cash and credit cards at request, throwing the biggest parties... When he did something to upset Val’s mom? Vacation booked. When there was a minor inconvenience? Shopping trips. If Val found out something that her dad didn’t want her mom knowing? Her credit limit magically upped. You get the point, right? Val was spoiled from the day she was born, and her expectations were… high.

Like today, it was her and Jared’s one-year anniversary, and he’d asked her to be ready by six, and Valerie, if nothing else, was always on time. Her hand shifted from the small porcelain jewelry box, a gift from her great grandmother, to her phone as she checked the time. Ten minutes to spare. Not a surprise.

Digging through a few of the rings and hoops, she found the matching diamond earring she’d been looking for and pulled it out to put it on before placing the top back on the box carefully and pushing it back on her vanity.

She was expecting a lot from Jared today, but she also wasn’t concerned about the possibility of being disappointed. Much like herself, Jared was a fan of the finer things in life, and he’d also been able to keep up with her demands and princess attitude so far.

The brunette slipped on her fave Dior heels and grabbed a small clutch bag just as the doorbell echoed throughout the painfully oversized house. A polished, older gentleman pulled back the wooden door, giving Jared a perfect view of Val descending the spiral staircase. Yes, she was fully expecting him to be in awe of her. Why wouldn’t he be?

Val’s eyes traveled to his hand, where a single rose caught her attention, causing her resting bitch face to turn into a smile. If it were any other guy, Val would’ve been utterly disappointed by the lack of flowers and chocolates and live bands or whatever else, but she knew him well enough to know this was far from all he had up his sleeve.

She took the rose as he held it out it, raising it up to her nose and giving a soft nod of approval before handing it off to the doorman. "Get that put in water," she ordered the man, to which he quickly moved to do as she'd asked. Val turned her attention back to Jared, her eyes trailing slowly from his chest down to his custom dress shoes.

Of couse, he always looked red carpet ready, but there was just something about the deep blue Armani he had on now that made him ten times more attractive. Maybe that was partially the price tag but we don't need to read into it. "Ready as ever, though I'm starting to think I'd rather just dine in," she teased, leaning in to grace his cheek with a quick peck.

With her hand in his, Val followed him out to the car and slipped into the passenger seat. The ride was filled with small talk, mentions of Jared's work and Val's parents, she would occasionally interrupt to turn a song up and softly sing along, though it was more lip singing and soon enough, they were pulling into the parking lot.

Val's eyes slightly lit up when she realized they were at her favorite spot, Passaggio in Italia; a beautiful Italian place with the most amazing beach view. "The parking lot is kinda empty for a Satu-" Val paused, a smirk tugging at her perfectly glossed lips, "Babe, you did not. Did you rent the entire place out for just us two?" she asked as if she didn't already know the answer.
coded by natasha.
 
담밓늑
dam minyoung
location
Local Cafe
tags
@ditto
Felix was a little late but... that was okay. She was sure he had something important to do and had simply lost track of time. Everyone was late sometimes. She'd just sit on her phone until he arrived, the tip of her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth as she concentrated hard on whatever mobile game she was playing.

She lifted her head as she heard Felix's voice, smiling and waving.
"Hello!" She replied cheerfully, though Minnie always sounded cheerful.

She listened to his explaination. She was right, he simply got caught up in something important. She nodded in understanding.
"I wasn't waiting that long, anyway," She replied politely. There was a pause as she figured out what to say.
"Uhhh... was it maths you wanted to do?" She asked, grabbing her textbook and flipping it open to the contents page, "What did you want help with?"
code by @Nano
 
Ophelia Warren
Tick Tick Boom


Tune Up
69 lmao
something with earthy tones probably
interactions

Jace
Winona Winona

Yeah (yeah, yeah)
I was right all along,
Yeah (yeah, yeah) You come tagging along,

The bass-pedal stood perfectly in rhythm with the song. It was like almost muscle memory from how many times she’s practiced the same song– it was fairly easy, so Ophelia didn’t have to think twice when the wooden sticks hit toms to the snare drum in a matter of seconds.

You come tagging along,
Exhibit a,
On a tray,
What you say,
Ends up thrown in your face,
Exhibit b,

She’s frequented the store more than a handful of times. Practicing back home had just resulted in her parents explaining that it was “too damn loud” and they couldn’t “hear their own thoughts.” Normally, the owner of the shop would come out and say the exact same thing– unless she was planning on making a purchase not to mess with the merchandise.

What you see,
Well that's me,
I'll put you back in your place
Yeah I've done it before,
And I can do it some more,
So what you waiting for?
Yeah!
I was right all along!

“You break it, you buy it.”

And Ophelia Warren did not have the money to buy just about anything in that store.

“'Cause I've done it before,” She muttered the lyrics under her breath.

And I can do it some more,
I've got my eye on the score,
I'm gonna cut through the floor,
It's too late,
It's too soon,
Or is it

The person who owned this shop were actually chill as fuck… and the drums she was playing on were electronic. So the only noise that racked through the store was continuous tappings of wood on plastic… minus the muffled song that was playing at dangerous volumes.

Tick, tick, tick

Tune Up was owned by Jace West. The brother of that blonde pop-star chick that was… sorta hot but that was beyond the point. Her music wasn’t anything Oph was interested in. That label Ash was signed with needed something more.

Tick

A little oomph.

Tick

A little Oph.

Tick

The guitar riff picked up and so did Ophelia, hitting the crash cymbal with enough force to cause the headset she was wearing to tremble.

Tick

“Boom!”

She was so enthralled by the drums that she didn’t even notice Jace came out from the back and suddenly he was in front of her and her heart fell into her stomach momentarily, being jump-scared by a yellow-beaning wearing dude wasn’t on her agenda today.

“Oh shit,” Ophelia switched both drumsticks to one hand, removing the headphones and placing them on the rack. “Sorry man.” Oph apologized for probably being a little too loud in the quiet environment that usually was the store.

He had just opened a few months ago, so he didn’t have many customers.

Ophelia was definitely his number one.

If… she had ever bought anything, but so far the only thing she’s bought was a guitar pick with a half-naked girl on it and a pair of drumsticks after one of her younger brothers had thought it’d be fun to stick it in the garbage disposal and see what happens.


But nevermind that. Jace West was gonna make a sale today.

A huge one.

Something like… $53.69.

Yeah, that’s all the amount of money she had.

“I’m gonna need you to show me your finest keyboards, bass, and… help me tune my brother’s old guitar because I don’t think I did it right.” TBD needed them– desperately. (TBD was just a name she pulled out of her ass, but apparently Bernie thought it was sick.)


“Uh… probably microphones too… wow, I need a lot of shit.” The shorter girl zoned out for a second, blinking back into reality and shaking her head, tapping Jace’s shoulders with the wooden drumsticks that… were her own.

So what if she brought her own drumsticks? Some people had fidget toys, chewing blocks or whatever– Ophelia had drumsticks.

“I’m… starting a band.”

…

“Wow, I never said that out loud yet. That’s pretty fuckin’ sick.”

Ophelia Warren was starting a band and it was gonna take Newcastle by storm, just you watch.

“So uh,” She chuckled, putting her hands up in defense to silently vow that she wasn’t going to continue her rhythm-tapping on his poor, overly-skinny shoulders.

“Can you help?”
coded by natasha.
 


















good morning...





Pouting like a child, Raven bowed and turned on her heel.
Right away, Kira lifted her head, furrowing her brows as her colleague advanced from desk to desk. In a way, she kind of did hope the intern would stumble upon something. But the amount of untouched paperwork surrounding her was... staggering. She needed to channel some discipline, desperately.

But it could wait. In truth, Kira's brain was mush and her fingers ached from scribbling numbers and copying her signature over and over and over and over... With a yawn, she rested her head on her fist, lazily typing on the computer:

She's so obviously eavesdropping. And she looks like a waitress checking on tables... Except instead of food in front of everyone, it's pictures of dead people and half-baked stories about puppies.

She glanced back again, her childlike heart skipping a beat as Raven drew in close to Peterson and Fritz. Peterson, the less fashionable of the two, had a mustard stain on his tie. Was that fresh?

I hate them so much. Whoever gives those dingbats their annual raises must have a gun pointed at their head.

But by golly, judging by the way Raven lingered around them, something useful must have been coming out of their grease-stained flesh flaps. Kira studied their faces as Raven attempted to offer them coffee, narrowing her eyes as their stupid, smug faces shook their heads "no".

Yeah, they probably already stopped for their Venti iced Starbucks lattes on company time. Pricks.

And when Jackson tried (and failed) to submit his own order to Raven, Kira couldn't help but to laugh quietly. She was totally not listening.

You're so mean, Raven. Wait, is that bobblehead... Nancy Pelosi? Christmas idea!

She actually felt a little bad for the poor guy. He was one of the sweeter writers at the paper, even if he had the personality of the sweat that always drenched his swivel chair. By this point, Kira was shamelessly staring at Raven, whose superpower was distracting Kira from her work, as hard as she tried to stay focused. One of these days, they were really going to get separated to other departments.

Silence followed the pretend coffee order, and Raven was roused from her eavesdropping by Jackson.

Abort, abort!

Sensing an imminent return, Kira switched out of her tab and picked up a folder. Oh, dear god, whose cockroach infestation was this? These photos...

Well, now they were gone. After rudely lifting the folder out of Kira's grasp, Raven uttered a mere two words, "Annabeth Perkins."

Kira turned her head. "What?"

A journal was tossed onto her desk, revealing notes from Peterson and Fritz's conversation. "Political consultant stepping down? Wrongfully fired? Starting up a lawsuit? Who knows?” Raven suggested like this was some kind of cheesy movie advertisement. Kira grabbed hold of the book with a devious grin, scanning each and every crucial word.

"You took notes. Clever girl..." Even if she didn't understand cubicles or fax machines, Raven was a natural at reporting. Now, to apply this to something real. She muttered the writing under her breath, going over it several times until she had an understanding of the lead. "They're making a public statement for this? Seems like overkill," she thought aloud, scanning the page for a fifth time.

Raven's arms were crossed, and her voice lowered to a rare hush. “Let’s find out. They’re having a press conference about it today— we try to get some questions out of her, maybe get her alone?”

"I'd rather have answers and that last part makes you sound like a psycho."

More quietly, she added, “Peterson and Fritz aren’t even planning on going. We get the story, we get the credit and we both move on up at the sleepless post.”

Kira shrugged, having already shut her computer off. And as nonchalant as she liked to play, the prospect of real investigative journalism was exhilarating. "This is so above our paygrade, but..." A grin stretched from cheek to cheek, which glowed under the office's fluorescent lighting. Even at such a late mental age, it wasn't hard to see how the woman was practically born to be the reigning Prom Queen. "Oh, fuck it, you know I want to."

Raven smiled back; she was just as excited. “No more practical paperwork.” Kira nodded, already grabbing her purse. “You should probably keep up the Pilates though, the girls here swear you spend a lot of time on your back.”

The aforementioned pencil pusher's brows knitted together in immediate disdain. "Oh, shut up. You're the one who came into work with a freshly-fucked glow." She tossed her hair over her shoulder, beckoning for Raven follow her outside. "Shag another bartender?"

What? A gal doesn't just get over being a mean girl.

And with that, the two were out of the office and to the parking lot, strolling a considerable distance down to Kira's humble, hot-as-balls parking space. At least her silver Audi, which occupied said space, wasn't half bad, a result from upper middle class wealth and a robust salary. Thanks, college!

Kira dropped herself into the driver's seat, crumpling a wad of stray receipts in her hand and tossing it in the back seat. "Mind all the box wine under the seat. I'm... hosting a dinner." Not that she needed to explain herself.

Because explaining that giant mess of even more paperwork in the back would be psychological torture to the most degrading degree. So what if work was her social life? And so she did no explaining, merely starting the car and booking it out of the lot.

A burst of energy fizzled all over Kira's body. She wasn't even doing anything she shouldn't have been, but it was such a rush to stick it to those dead-end stiffs.

Pulling in just beyond Newcastle's courthouse, she could already see an array of news vehicles that had already beaten the two of them to the punch. A small crowd filtered in and out of one of the courtrooms, and spotting anything alive among the swaths of notepads and flashing cameras was like hunting for a needle in a haystack.

"Hurry, I think it started already!" the brunette said with a newly-vivacious tinge to her tone, "Or else we're gonna have to flash someone to get a front row seat."






























homemade dynamite












♡coded by uxie♡

 
納賀勢 弥祐
nagase miyu
location
The Coven
tags
Winona Winona
Of course Miyu recognised Oliver, the two were close friends! How could she forget? Though, she understood his awkwardness, it was difficult for her to speak in such a quiet place. She could be yelling and she wouldn't know. She was going to have to bite the bullet and try to whisper.

She smiled as he stumbled through his sentence. Her relationship to the occult was a little weird, she wasn't sure if she believed it exactly.
"It's just... interesting," She replied, trying to keep her voice as soft as she could, "and the owner keeps selling me crystals..." She muttered with a quiet giggle, fidgeting with the crystal necklace around her neck.

There was an awkward silence. Even though the two knew eachother, they were still both so awkward sometimes... She was relieved as he spoke up again.
"Sure," She smiled. At least she wasn't so awkward that he wanted to run away from the whole interaction. She got to her feet, sliding the book back onto the bookshelf before grabbing her backpack.
"Where do you wanna go?" She asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
code by @Nano
 
Antonio
mood
This is fun, sure

outfit
Casual

Mentions
Nate

tags
Soap Soap


This was a bad idea. Toni knew bad ideas when he saw them, and usually avoided them. Now was his idea of a bad idea always inline with traditional ones? Nah. I mean some might say being a pot head was a bad idea, or living like a bum...but that's irrelevant. This...outting...was a bad idea. Why? Because it looked like a date, acted like a date, and it basically was a date they just weren't admitting it 100%.

He's not dated in a little over a year now, and for good reason. He is not boyfriend material. That's not to say Toni doesn't believe himself a good guy cause he is. He's nice, respectful, all that jazz...but you know the whole living like an motivation less hobo in a state of consistently being just a notch above broke was a lot of pressure for a relationship even for the nicest of guys and patient of girls. And his ex was patient.

More so then he had deserved...

Which is why he didn't need to put anyone else though that.

Sure he could tell himself he was just being nice, and making a new friend but even he wasn't dense enough to not see that Liv liked him. How much? He wasn't sure because...well girls confused the hell out him especially the ones around here. one second they are in love the next t hey hate you the next they hate you and the next they are back to being obsessed. Or having feelings but lying saying they don't then get mad when you hurt their 'non-existent" feelings. It was all too much.

Something casual would be best. Then there would be no expectations. With no expectations he couldn't disappoint. Not to mention she and Nate were...friends? The guy acted like she was his little sister yet at the same time seemed to pretend like they weren't good friends...so once again confused. Americans...Anyways he liked not actually being homeless so he'd rather stay in his roomies good graces.

Plus Liv could do better. She was an aspiring singer or something like that right? Had really influential friends who could help her achieve anything she wanted, and had a good life ahead of her. Being with a bum like him would do nothing but drag her down.

So with a bittersweet tug at his heart he was kinda hoping that's all this was. A passing crush, or something that she felt was just a casual fling. He didn't mind being a pass time. They could have a good time and possibly stay friends afterwards because well...she seemed really cool? She was pretty, funny, and honest. He didn't like getting involved in social media messes, but that didn't mean he didn't scroll from time to time, and things have been interesting as of late so he's been peeking and seeing her interactions with people. She was sweet and seemed like a good friend.

He grabbed his skates and walked back over to her with a smile on his face. Yup fun that was the focus of today. He typically didn't get out much, and especially not in crowds so this was slightly outside of his comfort zone. But he wanted to actually do something nice for her since their last...outing was a bit weird. Not bad just all things considered weird...

He had taken his anxiety medication in anticipation and thankfully so. Was he still feeling some type of way? Yes, but it was tolerable. Pluss if he just let his focus stay on her maybe it would ease up. You know the whole pretend to be the only two people in the world deal.

Toni sat down beside her before lacing up his own skates as his ears perked at her confession. He couldn't help the laughter that busted from his lips. There was that honesty he admired. He quickly waved his hands "Lo siento! I didn't mean to laugh, it is just..." He grinned, "No need for an excuse bonita. I can try to teach you, but I am unsure if I am a good teacher." He finished up and stood up offering her his hand to take, "But I promise to stay by you so you won't fall...or uh at least will not fall alone."

He could do this much for her. Be kind, let her have some fun and just forget about other bs for just a little while.
coded by reveriee.
 
Jared D.
mood
Confidence is key

outfit
dark blue Armani suit

Mentions
Val

tags
jasmyn jasmyn

Jared looked up the staircase, and as usual she was breathtaking. A lesser man might actually melt at the sight. Good think he wasn't a lesser man. She was as stunning as the diamonds the decorated her body. In fact some might say they paled in comparison.

Jared wasn't an easy to please or easy to deal with man, so it wasn't a wonder that Val and him made a picture perfect match. When you think of yourself a a god among mortals, you can only have a goddess by your side.

Only a queen can handle the weight of a crown because truly it is a heavy burden. To have to deal with him, and his family was a heavy price to pay for the luxury of their lifestyle. The same of course could be said for her own family, but this wasn't about her right now it was about him. Everything in his mind was about him, even if it was technically about someone else.

Could you blame him though? Raised the golden child, the heir to the throne of the empire his parents had built. The one who had to keep it all under control all the time, especially when it came to his wild sister. He was always at the center he waws always the one upholding it all. And one day his parents would fade into dust and he would truly be the atlas of it all.

Even he knew at that point he would need some sort of release. Someone who would and COULD help shoulder all of that. It would take someone rather special, so of course he was picky. Of course he had unreasonable standards. He expected nothing less then what would be expected of him which in his mind equaled the only semblance of fairness he's ever known.

He knew where his value in this world came from his parents had made that abundantly clear. Was it so wrong then to want the same in turn? That if he was worthless if he couldn't maintain and thrive in such conditions...shouldn't others be held to that same standard?

He was bought from his thoughts seeing the smile that graced her lips. It almost ruined all his bravado. It wasn't his favorite thing about her, but it was a close second behind those eyes of hers. The fire that burned in them, and the passion that he'd grown to respect, and finally admire. Not to mention those lips could both sing sweet praises he secretly craved as well as cut down those unworthy which he equally loved. A siren among women for sure, and being raised by a vixen made you appreciate one just as much.

The quick peck on his cheek was followed by a rare soft chuckle of his own and smirk before whispering in her ear, "Trust, this will be much better, but if you want the night can end however you desire." He shot a teasing wink her way as they made their way out. He walked her to the car and like the gentleman his mother raised him to be...at least to those worth his attention, he got the door and they were off. He certainly did not care for niceties toward just anyone.

The car ride was pleasant as always. While Jared rarely found himself in a good or jubilant mood, he was never in a foul mood when she was around which he supposed meant something.

Once they pulled in he glanced to the side to gauge her reaction and luckily he clocked the slight uptake in her expression at the sight. Step 1 check.

"Of course. Tonight is our night and I think we've already established how much we dislike sharing." He grinned getting out of the car and opening her side for her to escort her inside. "Just wait till you see the best seat in the house." He smiled.

He was confident in his ability to surpass her expectations, and this just added fuel to that fire. The only thing keeping his arrogance even marginally at by was the tiny bomb in his pocket. The symbolic weight was almost overbearing. He'd asked for a certain designers help with tonight and so was the only person alive who knew of his intentions. Lucky she wasn't the type to gossip. A Keen quality to have in someone in his eyes.

He let the host lead them up to the rooftop so she could see all the decorations there. Just as he anticipated the slowly setting sun shinned beautifully on the golden and Dimond flaks all around. The lights were set exactly to his specifications and he'd have to give a generous tip to the coordinator for this.

What did you think he'd lifted a finger to do this by hand? Of course not. That was far below his paygrade. Plus it's not like she'd care if he did it or if he paid someone to.

The live musicians began to play softly as they entered right on que. Admittedly he didn't know her favorite song, but this was one of the most played in her phone so that was close enough. Jared knew a lot about Val but little things like her favorite this or that tended to escape him. Luckily he had enough resources and money to fill in those gaps to either make it appear like he did, or be flashy enough to make her overlook it.

Their host seated them and informed her she could order whatever she liked as tonight was an open menu and promised the chief would deliver whatever her heart desired. Jared looked over at Val gently grabbing her hand and kissing the top of is, "What do you say we start off with a glass of wine to celebrate sweetheart?"

coded by reveriee.
 
Mercedes Camus
lover boy


somewhere
😃
something cute
interactions

Matty
0k_mang0 0k_mang0

Did Hawaii and France give him a tan? Do people get tanned in France?
Holy-fucking-shit-balls he looked so freaking good. Mercedes smiled and mustered up a wave after deciding that a hug would be invading the personal space that she so desperately wanted to invade.

Did he wear a certain cologne?

He probably picked something up in France. All-fancy like and Mercedes wouldn’t ever find out because the dust in the place was enough to make her sneeze.

She didn’t though– she didn’t sneeze.

That’d be embarrassing.

“Hey!” She greeted, her voice barely wavering with the confidence that she had possessed after a mental pep-talk once she saw her reflection in the old piano that was probably way out of tune.

“Do you need help with anything here?”

“Point me in the direction of a potential boyfriend?”

That would’ve been a smooth thing to say. God, that would’ve been the perfect thing to say! But alas, Mercedes Camus was not smooth as much as she liked to believe.

Her mind went blank.

Straight-up blank. Mercedes had no idea what to say. She saw the sign– was the sign really just a help wanted sign, or was it a sign from the lord and savior herself?

Kristen Bell wasn’t dead yet but after Mercedes binged Veronica Mars, she was almost convinced that she was her spirit animal and they were totally tied in some way. Platonic soulmates?

Had to be.

Why do you think Mercedes was so iconic? She stole her personality from a handful of TV shows that… her mother grew up on but that only made Mer all the more original.

Oh, sorry, got carried away with Kristen Bell-- the sign, what was the sign?

This obviously was a sign that even the universe was trying to push Mercedes & Matty together. That this would be her shot to get a super hot boyfriend at the cost of manual labor and dust bunnies. She shook her head,

“I'm just totally here to gather ideas for your welcome back party,”

And her family was no stranger to hard work.

So she thinks, anyway.

“I’m joking, that’s only a joke– I’m grounded for five-ever…” Mercedes muttered, pressing a key on the piano, resulting in a strained-out-of-tune high note.

“I’m only out of the house because I’m job hunting.” Did he know what she was hinting at?

Did she really have to hint at it?

Mercedes looked up from the piano to meet his gaze and only a small part melted. Why did he have to be so perfect?

It wasn’t freaking fair.

“How was uh… France? Est-ce que tu t'es amusé?” Finally, something she could flaunt.

She only knew a little French. She was still taking classes– and Mercedes was only a junior… paying very little attention in class because she was too busy doodling and daydreaming about a certain dreamboat who's named rhymed with...

Satty Sanzano.

...

Someone save her.

Preferably someone with abs, olive-skin and had cologne from France.

Pssst, extra points if you have asthma.

...yeah, no wonder why she goes to therapy.
coded by natasha.
 
Amethyst J.
mood
nervous, but trying

outfit
Casual

Mentions
N/A

tags
Winona Winona

Watching Damien frantically try to close out of all of the disturbing images on his computer just made Amy giggle. Not that the images were funny, but just him worrying so much about it. Her friends tryed so hard in their own ways to protect her from things, and while it wasn't necessary it was appreciated. To her it was a sign they cared about her.

Sure she was rather innocent especially compared to a lot of her peers. Hell compared ever to those she classed close friends. But she wasn't oblivious. Usually.

She understood he liked certain things and if it was work then that was a bonus. How are they supposed to understand each other and who they are each becoming if they still feel the need to hide parts of themselves from each other? Just because she'd rather not deal with that stuff in her spare time didn't mean she physically couldn't handle it or something? Did they think she'd die or throw up or something?

Once again not that it mattered because her eyes were on her panicked friend more then anything flashing across his screen that he was attempted to hide from her.

It was adorable really. Especially when he finally re-faced her only for his Cheeks to betray the words that finally left his lips.

She decided that this time she'd give him some grace and poke fun at him. After all she'd like to get some gaming in before their 'party planning'. It'd been far too long.

Hearing him lower his voice to tell her the next part made logical sense, but in practicum...it still felt weird. She wasn't good at keeping secrets from her parents either, but as much as Damien talked about certain things all the time and how often he claimed to do them...it kinda blew her mind that his mom didn't know at all. Then again maybe she was preoccupied... which didn't make her feel any better about the whole thing.

She simply nodded as he rolled over towards the system. She was kinda excited to get to just have a bit of fun. Maybe it would calm her nerves and anxiety about this...party she was apparently helping to throw. You know the party that was probably about to have a lot of drugs and apparently some fight? Yah fun.

"Y-yah! Of course." She chimed putting her best foot forward and flashing him a thumbs up. Compromise Amy remember that's important. He's playing games with you when he'd probably rather do something else, and you can help with his party.

"Who um, who all is coming tonight anyways?" She asked curiously. Not that it mattered, "Also mind if I invite some people?" Amy didn't have a whole bunch of friends or anything like that so he could probably guess who she wanted to bring. Which shouldn't be an issue.

She helped him set everything up as they spoke since clearly he hardly played this thing. "You an be player one if you want." She offered.
coded by reveriee.
 
Logan Cruz
location here
tired
clothes
interactions

Maverick jazzyball jazzyball
She hesitated momentarily before grabbing the handle of her shopping cart and pushing Axel after the... guy. Logan couldn't for sure say who he was, probably because she'd mostly kept her head down in school. The people she did know were mostly met through Dex or Raven.

She should've stuck to girls. They couldn't leave you with a bastard child.

In a way, Logan felt embarrassed. Defeated. She kind of lowered her head while she followed him, so her dark hair could maybe hide her face a little more. See, it was embarrassing enough to be the mother to a baby this young, especially when she never showed up anyway anymore without looking like a total disaster. And she could hear the whispers, feel the stares on her back...

Maybe she was imagining all of it, but still.

Except when she ran into anyone from her old church. They... they were always watching, always judging with their noses upturned.

But not only was she now the girl with a baby, but she was also the girl following a strange man into the liquor aisle when she was clearly underaged. That had to look even worse than the whole baby thing, right? And the idea that these people were surely judging her made her grip all the more tighter on the handle, and her gaze came to rest on Axel's chubby little face, and... that should've made it all wash away. Because she should've looked at him and felt something, felt that undying love for her child that she heard parents got.

(Except for her dad clearly.)

But she didn't feel anything when she looked down at him, and it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

Maybe that just ran in the family.

Except the guy spoke up, and she moved her gaze to him. "Huh?" She said, and it took a moment for his words to hit her foggy brain. "Oh... yeah, thanks, that's... yeah, that's awesome. I really need it."

Maybe all these confusing, mixed feelings would be washed away the instant she was able to get a decent sleep.

Or so she hoped.
coded by natasha.
 
Jace West
Tune Up, aka his store
happy
clothes
interactions

Ophelia Soap Soap
Rocking out on stage with thousands of fans shouting his name had always been Jace's name. And he'd experienced that a handful of different times -- he'd performed in small coffee shops, a couple bars, and a few times at some bigger events. Fairs. Opening for small time artists. Opening for... Ash. Even a couple of charity banquets.

All of these had been arranged and brought about by his mother's influence, but not even her influence could get Jace what he so desperately wanted -- which was to actually be able to write and produce songs. Professionally. But when Ash's career had taken off, his had fallen to the side, and... Jace didn't know enough. He'd tried desperately to get signed at various records, but there was always something they didn't like about him.

He'd claimed it didn't bother him, but it did.

Eventually, he'd asked his mom for some money to start a music store. She'd said no. So he'd asked his dad. His dad had said ask your mother. So Jace had gone over both their heads to his grandparents, who had... also said no. So after some begging from Ash, he got her to help him convince their grandparents, and he was now the owner of a little store called Tune Up. It certainly wasn't something that earned a lot of money, but... it gave Jace a purpose in life.

For the first time in a long time, he was actually happy.

Turns out that he wasn't too bad at teaching kids how to play instruments, and he'd recently started dabbling in vocal coaching. He was also pretty good at that. So he'd finally found something that he was good at, and something that his sister wasn't good at.

And then Dorian had said he was moving here with someone, which Jace had assumed was Maddie, so he'd gone about renovating the upstairs into a cozy three bedroom apartment for him and his bestie and his... bestie's sister. They pretty much had to start at scratch, so unfortunately... it wasn't going to be ready to officially move into until a few weeks after Dorian arrived. But that was fine! Jace had a plan for that.

He was just excited to see his bestie.

So he'd just come walking down the stairs to check on the apartment's progress when the sound of someone drumming reached his ears. He didn't mind people playing the instruments -- in fact, he encouraged it, and there were a fair number of people that came by to practice in their spare time. After all, a lot of people couldn't have the instruments at home for whatever reason -- and who was he to take the ability to practice music away from him? In fact, he was more than happy to share it.

Today's occupant on the drums was sort of a regular. Ophelia. She wasn't too bad at the drums, and he'd given her a few tips when she'd first started coming in. Nowadays, she actually sounded pretty good.

"It's fine," he said with a smile. "You sound good."

And then Ophelia started to list off some instruments she'd need -- keyboards and bass, microphones, tune an old guitar... she was going on and on, and then explained what it was for. She was starting a band, which sounded pretty freaking cool.

All the while, she was drumming along his shoulders with her drumsticks, which earned a cocked eyebrow from the older boy.

Once she was done (and her drumsticks were removed from his shoulders), he was able to speak.

"Of course I can help," he responded, and gave a tilt of his head for her to follow. First, he led her towards the keyboards. He stopped next to one -- a sleek black one with a million different knobs and buttons on top to adjust the sound. "Now, this one..." he flipped it on, and his fingers started to play across it to the tune of a song familiar to him, "is the best I've got. Professionals use it."

He dropped his hands away, looking down at her. "It runs five hundred dollars. If that's ahh... too much, I've got a couple cheaper ones," he waved a hand behind him towards them, "for about one fifty."
coded by natasha.
 
Raven Rivera
Courthouse
desperate bc when is she not
something casual
interactions

hery hery

She had to admit– she was surprised that Kira had agreed in the first place. Was this the moment of a blossoming partnership? While her constant sarcasm and ability show Raven up with witty comebacks that she wasn’t used to– it wasn’t something she was complaining about.

They complimented each other nicely, something told her that Kira was going to be one of those friendships she couldn’t screw up.

Her relationships had continued to take a turn for the worse but Raven was pushing all of that aside for a possible story with possible answers.

"Oh, shut up. You're the one who came into work with a freshly-fucked glow." A breathy chuckle escaped her, swinging her bag around her shoulder, following Kira through the office and muttering a goodbye to Rocco as they passed him and left the building, the fresh air and noise a welcome change of pace from the constant sounds of the broken fax machine and stuffy office.

“Shag another bartender?"

A smug smile tugged at the corners of her lips and Raven shrugged, looking over at Kira. “I wasn’t aware you were so in touch with your sensual side enough to notice.” Zach lacked experience but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a fast learner– while his quiet and shy demeanor was certainly a let-down, he had made up for it in other ways.

"But yes, actually-- you might know 'em."

He’d be the highlight of her day if it wasn’t for this story. As pathetic as that sounded– it was true.

It made Raven feel somewhat powerful knowing that she had the ability to make the most-serious and broody man brush everything aside for a quickie in a storage room.

Feminine wiles– what would she do without them?

The passenger door swung open and Raven yawned climbing in, eying the boxes of wine and rolling her eyes at Kira’s excuse. She wasn’t owed one in the first place– but she supposed it was nice to be lied to once in a while.

Reminded her of her childhood.

“I heard about the buy twelve get two free sale, too,” She was being dramatic, there couldn’t have been more than three in the back– and even then, Raven wasn’t in a predicament to judge.

At least it was wine and not countless bottles of hard liquor? “Too bad the liquor store doesn’t accept my fake.” Raven had “morals” sure– but even she had exceptions. Alcohol was always something she was careful with too.

Her plan was never to play into the whole; “Like mother like daughter” trope.

Far from it.

Her phone was blowing up with back to back messages from both– Mason and Jade. As much as Raven believed she was far too mature to deal in petty arguments, it seemed like a recurring thing with her.

Things were always tense when Jade was brought into the conversation– they weren’t friends– anymore, that is. It was complicated. She didn’t feel responsible for her– it wasn’t her job to take care of her.

But if anything had happened to her…

She muttered a curse under her breath and turned off her phone, pocketing it right as they pulled up to the courthouse.

"Hurry, I think it started already! Or else we're gonna have to flash someone to get a front row seat." Kira was already out of the car before Raven had a chance to open her own door, she had to admit that it was almost exhilarating to see that she was as interested in getting the story as she was– if not more.

“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve offered.” No, of course she’s never done it– but it was a very tempting idea half the time, the other half– she was with Jade and that was more than enough of an explanation.

They walked in, following the sounds of flashing cameras and reporters yelling over each other, only quieting when a woman started to speak again. It was clear they were late but thankfully not too late.

There was countless press, some even taking pictures and recording with their phones instead of an actual camera.

“Ms. Perkins! Were you–” Each prospect in the crowd talked over each other, asking countless questions; “were you fired?”

“What can you tell us about the mayor’s campaign?”

“Thoughts on the equity market–”

Raven and Kira both struggled to make their way through the crowd, a side-eye was given to them both which she returned a death-glare of her own before the innocent-girl immediately looked away, the press badge around her neck had the logo of Dayton Daily, the paper from a town over.

Annabeth Perkins spoke up, adjusting the thin-framed glasses on her face and brushing a piece of curly mid-length brown hair behind her ear.

“To put all speculation to rest– I am stepping down.” Murmurs and countless questions were thrown at the woman again and Raven shook her head, crossing her arms and leaning closer to Kira, her words hushed.

“I talked to–”

My ex.

“Someone I know, her father’s the DA. She said nobody steps down by choice– do you think it’s just a front?” They were close enough so Kira could pick up what Raven was saying despite the middle-aged woman repeating the same phrase behind them, “Annabeth, over here!” in an almost rhythmic pattern.

If she didn’t already have a headache, Raven would’ve blamed it on her.

“In the five years I worked here, I’ve met some of the most compassionate, ambitious, and… determined people. While we have…” Annabeth glanced down and Raven guessed that she was just reading off whatever speech that was on the podium.

She wasn’t surprised that she had prepared a speech, a lot of political figures do, but she couldn’t help but wonder if the speech was prepared by her or…

“our differences... My time and experience here is something that I will never take for granted. It’s taught me a lot– who I am and who I aspire to be as a person, with that in mind I vow to make a difference elsewhere like I’ve tr–”

She cleared her throat, continuing.

“Like I’ve tried to here.”

Her gaze had fallen somewhere else but with the crowd of people and countless flashes of cameras, Raven couldn’t take note of where– or who she was looking at.

“Mayor Jameson and his team are working hard to bring Newcastle a better today and a brighter tomorrow. Vote for a name you know.”

At the fear of the conference ending, the reporters picked up in volume which resulted in Annabeth giving a tight, forced smile.

“I will not be answering any questions at this time, thank you.” Ms. Perkins made her way away from the podium, a guard and two men Raven didn’t recognize followed after her.

Which ruled out the possibility of getting her alone.

(Yeah, she knew she sounded like a psychopath– she didn’t care, okay Kira?) Some of the crowd dispersed, still murmuring and conversation surrounding the two girls.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

“So that was–”

She caught eyes with the Dayton girl and Raven tilted her head towards the restrooms, eager to make space between her and little-miss-journalist.

~

She popped two Tylenols into her mouth and swallowed them dry, hoping to ease the pounding tension-headache she had gained throughout the stress of her day. “We got what everyone else did,” Raven breathed, leaning her shoulder against the wall while Kira was intent on fixing her appearance in the mirror.

“A bunch of bullshit.”

She might’ve been a bit too harsh on that part.

But can you blame her?

They had come for a distraction– a story. Raven believed that this was their way out of manila folders and complicated coffee orders. A chance to prove herself and have an actual, meaningful headline instead of a fire at the town’s Walmart.

Her anger was misplaced– but her disappointment wasn’t.

Raven was talking to herself more than she was talking to Kira, speaking her own thoughts out loud. “Ella escupió mierda sobre lo grandioso que fue su tiempo aquí, pero está renunciando? Please, I don’t buy it for a second.”

“And you know–”

One of the bathroom stalls opened and Raven went quiet, pursing her lips and crossing her arms, the girl washed her hands and left them alone once again, leaving Kira to make her own points while Raven’s mind continued to run.

And that’s it?

They just leave the courthouse, go back to The Post and leave it at that? Listen to Peterson and Fritz bicker, Jackson’s beads of sweat hitting the floor, McCarthy’s arguments with his wife over the phone and the constant annoyance that was the secretaries that had nothing better to do than to gossip about shit they didn’t know about.

She shook her head, glancing over at Kira through the reflection of the wide bathroom mirror, wiping away a smudge of mascara that leaked from the heat.

“Something about the entire thing just feels…”

Another stall opened and Raven went quiet– though not because she was afraid someone was going to pick up their conversation.

Because the woman who exited the stall was Annabeth Perkins.

Her gaze met Kira’s and with silent approval as Annabeth moved between them to wash her hands, Raven leaned against the bathroom door and subtly flipped the lock.

She really did seem like a psychopath, though, her craving for a story wasn’t exactly the same craving as Hannibal Lecter… she was beginning to see the resemblance.

A “shoo” gesture was given to Kira to push her into conversation. There was no way Raven was about to start this one off. Besides, Kira was the friendly face in this pair.

…

Doesn’t matter if that was true or not– we’re not investigating them.
coded by natasha.
 


















good morning...





If Kira was going to chase a pipe dream today, then she was going to take names and quotes too.
Her flats tapped on the asphalt hurriedly while she dug into her purse for a pen, narrowly leading her to collide with strangers coming and going from the courthouse. Raven was quick on her feet; it went greatly appreciated.

The slick, tile floor was littered with the shuffling feet of Newcastle's voracious press and, as the sound of the commotion grew closer, Kira could only begin to wonder what was so high-profile about a government worker's early retirement. The antiquely ornate appearance of the county courthouse made the entire case seem so much grander, like history was being made under their local hall's famous ceiling mural. And, oh, the columns...

Kira was winded from her hasty ascent up the courthouse stairs, and it was impossible to keep up pace with the crowd pushing and shoving past them. The girls turned a corner, reaching the courtroom set aside for today's very informal press conference. They had to move quick, but not so fast that they couldn't pick up useful information among fellow reporters' idle chatter.

"That's Annabeth Perkins, she's one of the mayor's political consultants. "

"Wait, so she does consultations? Think she'll accept my insurance?"

"It was thanks to her team that California mayors can serve more than two terms. And that's not just a matter of public opinion."

"Miss Perkins stole the past two elections for Mayor Jameson flawlessly, why is she stopping now?"

"These goddamn politicians, who knows what her plans are behind the shadows!"

One particularly aggressive shoulder knocked Kira off-balance, gracelessly throwing her into Raven's vicinity. She continued to stumble, but picked herself up fast. No matter how inexperienced, the plucky journalism student wouldn't be demoralized so easily. "Raven, I swear to god, if another hackette grabs my shoulder—"

The fervor in Kira's frustrated voice petered out when a hush fell over the room. The crowd, crammed like sardines in the courtroom, wielded countless cameras of varying size, all of which flashed in a ripple effect resembling ocean waves. Kira kept her head down, but her eyes trained on the curly-haired, glasses-wearing woman standing front and center. She was young for her prized position, but the formality in her demeanor was enough of a testament to her successful political career.

Immediately, a flood of questions came barreling out of the crowd, all concerning the nature of Perkins' early retirement. They had to get closer, but it was nearly impossible to fight for a place in the crowd. Other reporters seemed to be battling tooth and nail for a prime location, all pushing and shoving against the short gate separating the press from the important people addressing the audience. Several security guards and men in suits spoke between one another behind the woman of the hour.

Slipping through cracks in the crowd with difficulty, Kira grunted and gasped as arms and pens were barbarically shoved in her face. And she fought back, practically mowing the men in front of them down like a bulldozer. With elbows jutting out, it was amazing what one small woman could do to fight for her place. And she made sure to hold onto Raven's wrist with an iron grip, tugging her in the direction of the action. God, she felt so alive.

The air felt fresher further up, and Kira let out a hushed victory cry as she and Raven surfaced in their much-more adequate spot in the crowd. She readied her pen and notepad, hanging onto every syllable that escaped the earnest-looking woman's mouth. Her reserved-yet-hardened features told the story of an individual who had to fight for her place, but there was still a hint of purity in her delicate appearance. Kira narrowed her eyes, mulling over a thousand angles for this story. Just what was the nature of this course of events?

“To put all speculation to rest– I am stepping down.”

So it seemed. The crowd nodded in unison, then erupted into a double-helping of camera flashes and murmured remarks. Raven, arms crossed and just as intrigued, leaned in to Kira's side. The latter slightly cocked her head to the side, signifying a lent ear.

"I talked to someone I know, her father's the DA." Just how she managed a contact like that was beyond knowledge. "She said nobody steps down by choice– do you think it’s just a front?"

"Well, sure, but statistic probability is hardly enough to go on," Kira reasoned, twirling her pen between her fingers. It was near-impossible to think with this overload of ambient noise, starting with the incessant squawking of the reporter behind them. If her day had been going just a little bet less well, Kira would have jabbed the woman's toes with her heel then and there.

The speech went on. “In the five years I worked here, I’ve met some of the most compassionate, ambitious, and… determined people. While we have our differences... My time and experience here is something that I will never take for granted. It’s taught me a lot– who I am and who I aspire to be as a person, with that in mind I vow to make a difference elsewhere like I’ve tr–”

She cleared her throat, and in that moment, Kira shot a quick whisper to her side. "This sounds so rehearsed, it hurts."

“Like I’ve tried to here," Perkins continued. Kira wasn't sure why, but her heart sank. There was a note of resignation to her voice, more than the literal note of resignation she was reading off of. Even without a full understanding for the situation, the brunette couldn't shake the feeling that the town was taking a devastating loss in this courtroom.

“Mayor Jameson and his team are working hard to bring Newcastle a better today and a brighter tomorrow. Vote for a name you know.” The woman, standing tall and firm, stepped away from the podium. Kira's stomach crumpled up tighter than the fists that shook by her sides. “I will not be answering any questions at this time, thank you.”

Raven and Kira's eyes met, as did theirs with the Dayton reporter. There was a shared disappointment, but also a rekindled fire of rivalry. "Yeah," Kira agreed, arms crossed indignantly, "Let's get out of this cloud of sweat and desperation."

--

Never had Kira been so grateful for the quiet and serenity of courthouse bathrooms. Still, the nagging tone of defeat hung above the girls' head like a mocking rain cloud. Forecast: Peterson and Fritz were right. This debacle was so not worth it.

“We got what everyone else did,” Raven breathed to a crestfallen Kira, who channeled her vexation by angrily removing her makeup in the mirror. There wasn't even a point in going back to the office. There wasn't a point in any of this. “A bunch of bullshit.” Her notepad was sad, filled with roughly paraphrased politically-cautious garbage.

Kira nodded, dropping a makeup wipe in the garbage. "Yeah. Capping it off with a campaign slogan? Really?" She ran the sink faucet, dousing her hand in the cold water before applying it to the rest of her face. If she closed her eyes, it was almost like senior Homecoming all over again. Except today's disappointment was another girl, not football douchebag Remy.

Raven kept on ranting, and only a quarter of it Kira understood. She merely nodded in support, too distracted inspecting her pores to pretend to translate. "This was nice, Raven, but I think this is as far as we can go. It's a dead end." Of course, the pierced intern was far too fired-up to drop it right away.

“Something about the entire thing just feels…”

But her voice trailed off, and just as Kira was about to make a sarcastic remark, she followed her gaze to the bathroom stalls from the mirror's reflection. Behind her, the aspiring journalist picked out a woman's figure. Immediately following the sight, Kira's face blanched and a cold sweat trickled off the side of her face as fear struck her eyes and her heart kicked into hyperdrive.

Annabeth fucking Perkins just stepped out of that stall. Is this real?

Carefully, she glanced back at Raven, frantically shaking her head "no" as the girl made a subtle move to lock the bathroom door. Frozen in place, water dripped off her hands until it was the only sound besides silence and Annabeth's feet shuffling in the room. She shook her head harder when Raven beckoned for her to go forth, multiple shades of panic coloring her face until, finally, she recognized what had to be done.

With one final hard, long look at Raven, Kira cleared her throat, making a casual glance toward the only other woman in the room besides the two fledgling reporters. The woman's head was down, her brown curls obscuring what was surely a tired look on her face. She had heard everything, hadn't she?

"Miss Perkins!" Kira exclaimed, startling the recently-resigned consultant. This felt so wrong. "You're still here?" she remarked in a quieter voice, genuinely taken aback by the woman's lingering around a building bustling with people scarily desperate for a word with her. But it just so happened she'd lucked out with two of Newcastle's more well-mannered reporters.

The woman finished washing her hands, making a slow turn toward the girls. It seemed this was something she was fearing. "W-well," her soft voice stammered, clasping her hands together with wide eyes, which were even more magnified under her glasses, "Aren't you the lucky ones?" Her eyes traveled to the door's lock, which Kira was acutely aware of. They both forced out some nervous laughter, charting their next moves.

But Kira beat her to it. "Good afternoon. I know you can't be long, and I apologize for my lack of... professionality, but my name is Kira Gauthier and this is my partner, Raven." That could have been interpreted in more than one way. "We're journalists." It was hard to feel taken seriously when all eyes were on her, not a soul in the room certain of the words she would inevitably force out. Now that they had the private interview they'd been gunning for, the pressure was way more than on.

"But my colleague and I couldn't help but feel that your delivery today was rather... abrupt." She cleared her throat again, fighting every instinct to slouch and avoid eye contact. "You didn't write much of that statement, did you?"

More silence followed. Annabeth stared down wistfully, deep in thought. Kira continued, removing her cell phone from her purse and switching it off. "Listen, neither of us are recording this conversation." She nodded to Raven, instructing her to do the same. "We're not even real writers... yet. We just want to help, so if there's anything you have that can—"

The older woman raised a hand, instantly shutting Kira up. Hesitantly, she spoke, "I'm afraid there's not much I can say that you haven't already heard. We have Jameson's team to thank for that. And..." She shook her head, regaining her sense of self-preservation.

Kira was persistent. "But you admit that something drove you to silence. Something systemic."

"Like I said earlier, there were differences. Those are to be expected in a political office."

"Are they? To what scale?" Kira pressed.

The hungry, juvenile reporter bit was getting old fast, but they still didn't have anything to go off of. Annabeth drew an exhausted sigh in and out. "Listen, I can tell the two of you are new to this, and as well-intentioned as you may be—"

In her strained effort, Kira's voice rose. "What, that's not enough!"

"Yes, it is!" Annabeth snapped, making her way past the wet-faced young adult at the mirror, "Unless you have the manpower to take down an entire corporate empire and eliminate a non-disclosure agreement, this story ends here. Good day, Miss Gauthier!"

In a huff, the woman pushed her way out the door, leaving Kira to stomp her foot in frustration. "Dammit, dammit!" she cried, slamming a fist into the wall, "We were getting somewhere!" If there was one truth in the world, it was that Kira hated losing. Everything was a competition, and though the lead was on the cusp of success, glory slipped through her fingers like sand. Just like that.

Holding her head in her hands, the red-faced woman addressed her dark-haired partner. "I'm sorry. I thought I had it." This was humiliating. And so... ugh! Kira wanted to break something.






























homemade dynamite












♡coded by uxie♡

 
Livanna Moore
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Toni Kitsune2202 Kitsune2202

His laugh confused her– only for a moment before Liv’s lips tilted into a smile at the sound of it. Maybe she was super nervous, sure, but at least she had the ability to make him laugh.

"No need for an excuse bonita. I can try to teach you, but I am unsure if I am a good teacher."

Ed was so right. Submissive and… whatever the heck he said was a great plan. Why would she need Ed or Dalton to teach her how to skate when Toni was already offering?

“I think I’ll be the judge of thattttt…”

He stood up and held out his hand for her to take and she swore she felt her heart skip forty-two beats. This wasn’t good. She… tended to crush really hard– enough to a point where nothing else mattered– it wasn’t healthy.

Livanna Moore was an emotional soul. This was a second date– second… “outing” but even then Liv knew that she liked this guy barely five minutes into meeting him.

It was a pattern. She always fell too fast– and too hard.

"But I promise to stay by you so you won't fall...or uh at least will not fall alone."

Yeah, here’s hoping.

Was he just being nice? Did he like her? Did she wear the right outfit? Liv’s mind tended to run at light-speed. Like… all the time. High-highs and low-lows were Liv’s… entire personality. The lows were rare– not as rare as they were a few months back but… never mind that.

Liv hasn’t had a low-low in months and was completely thriving. Fourth of July was just a mishap, she was just a little sad that her song wasn’t doing super great– especially since it’s the first one she’s ever gotten permission to have creative control over.

It led to a meeting where her team and manager decided to take the reins away, just to make sure to get everything “under control” again and when she’s ready to handle it– then “we’ll talk about it.”

It felt like they were just saying anything to get her to shut up with a smile on her face, but they were probably right. If Liv couldn’t handle making a half-decent song… why should she steer her career? She’d end up in a ditch. Washed up and riddled as a one-hit-wonder for everyone to remember her as.

“I can handle a bruise or two if it means I won’t be alone,” She said, a grin settling onto her lips.

She took Toni's hand and stood up carefully while he led the way to the Rink. Right before they entered the wooden floor that was full with kids, couples, and parents trying to teach their children– a tap was on her shoulder.

It was a younger girl, she couldn’t have been older than thirteen, smiling, a mixture of nervousness and excitement were written on her features.

“Um… is it okay if I took a photo with you?”

“Oh! Uh…” Liv looked toward Toni and mouthed a ‘sorry.’ “Sure, yeah! Let’s do it.” She laughed.

It wasn’t like this hadn't happened before– Liv just didn’t think that this would’ve happened while she was with Toni, she should’ve put two and two together once she realized they were leaving Newcastle.

They were less phased by Liv’s presence than they were here.

The young girl gave her phone to Toni and Liv carefully settled towards the young girl, smiling for the photo and blinking away the flash after it was taken. “Bye!” She took her phone and ran towards her friends in a flurry of excitement.

“Back to our regularly scheduled lessons?”

~
He wasn’t a bad teacher at all, actually. Liv only fell once and it didn’t result in any broken bones so she was down to try again, now she was capable enough to keep her balance without holding his hand… but she insisted that it was for safety and safety only.

They were interrupted a handful of times by a few other kids asking for photos, but thankfully Toni didn't seem to mind too much.

“I’ve always wanted to learn, but I never had anyone to go with… until…” She trailed off with her words and Liv hoped that it wasn’t too suggestive. If probably wouldn’t have agreed to a second outing if he didn’t like her– at least platonically.

If he liked her platonically, that’d be pretty disappointing but seeing that google translate told her “bonita” meant pretty, maybe her odds were decent?

Beyond worrying what Toni thought about her, Liv was having fun– and it was nice to actually enjoy herself with someone who actually wanted to spend time with her instead of accepting her invitations out of guilt.

Evie, Ed, Nate, Nickie or–

Well, maybe not Ash– but a good amount of her circle weren’t really interested in the things that Liv was.

Skyzone, arcades, color-me-mine and frozen yogurt were the highlights of her week whenever she’d gotten someone to go with her.

Parties were filled with substances that Liv couldn’t have, so these last few months she’d tried to distract herself with all the things she’s never gotten to do since she got signed at the label.

She never told anyone that's the reason why she's been so intent on trying so many things, but...

They didn't really have to know.

“My parents took me when I was really little but I fell and vowed to never return.”

She missed those days.

Liv wasn’t as close with her parents since moving to California, since it got difficult for constant plane rides back and forth– her parents set her up with an apartment that was too big for one person before they went back to Denver.

She didn’t blame them, they had their whole lives in Colorado and they believed she was in good hands at the label. It was only after the OD was when they tried to drag her back home– but after constant begging they allowed her to stay under Evie’s supervision.

“What about you, though? I feel like I talk so much that I barely know anything about you, other than the fact that you ignored your calling and didn’t pursue modeling…” Livanna teased, deciding to let go of his hand and attempt on her lonesome.

It was to her surprise that she didn’t fall, actually keeping up with Antonio while they circled the rink.

The last time they hung out, there were enough people that she didn’t have to worry about making conversation because it just happened so easily on the rooftop. Not to mention some of them were smoking and that tended to lead to the most absurd questions– though Liv could definitely see herself asking any of them completely sober…

She’d rather know more about him instead of knowing if he’d rather fight a hundred pig-sized zombies or one zombie-sized pig. “I think I should ask the serious questions, dig super deep…”

“... Like what’s your favorite froyo flavor?”
coded by natasha.
 
Ashton West
beach commercial thingy
booo work
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Viv jazzyball jazzyball
Viv's pleasant response earned a relieved sigh from Ash, followed by a warmer, more comfortable smile. It was easier to talk to people who were, like, cool. And it also made the whole having to work together thing so much easier, and just... pleasant in general.

Of course, her smile kind of faltered, a look confusion crossing her face, which was quickly followed by one of panic as she turned to peer in the direction that Viv was pointing, and... yeah, her mother was kind of in a heated debate with Viv's. Ash closed her eyes, and a hand came up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"I am... like... so sorry," she said as she dropped her hand away and turned towards the other girl. "I can go like get her or something if you want? I mean like... I don't really know how much I could do, but ummm..."

Yeah, because Ash didn't have any control over her mother. Big surprise. Yeah, you could shut up about it now.

"Or-- or umm... we could just go and, like, do this really quickly, and then I can get her out of here? Faster?"

There was a bit of an uncomfortable laugh from the small blonde, and it must've been pretty obvious that she was embarrassed.

No wonder she'd made no friends outside of work friends since coming here. It was hard to talk to people when your mother was... well... Elise. And was always watching your every move.
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