𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚢 .

   “I’ve got no reason not to be sure of myself, Dashiel.” Oh, she knows his nickname, of course – but anything to get under his skin, “My execution was flawless. And like I said, the editor-in-chief herself gave it the seal of approval, so really, you should have no say in the matter. It’s over your head. So just make sure it happens, otherwise I might not be so cooperative in the future.” Zara’s blood is boiling simply from being in the same room as him. Since her arrival at Verve, Dash has done everything he can to undercut her importance – at least, that’s how she sees his actions. “If you say there’s no space – then make it. We don’t need that bikini shoot – it’s the February issue, for god’s sake.” 

     ❛  the editor-in-chief may be over my head, but you, zara, are not — and if this is you being cooperative, it raises some serious red flags about your future here.  ❜  with talks of retirement on the brain, it’s only a matter of time before his seat at the top is vacated — and dash is all-too-eager to wield that power. verve is his birthright, the brass ring he’s been reaching for since adolescence. when her new era is finally underway, a smug creative director undermining his authority is the last thing he’ll stand for.  ❛  you’ve got a lot of nerve, barging in here and making demands. if you have a problem with the final print, take it upstairs. i’m sure my mother would be elated to take time out of her busy schedule to stroke your wounded ego.  ❜

     ❛  delong! get in here.  ❜  slamming his blackberry onto a marble end table, his voice projects across the first floor with ease. the beginnings of a celebrity bitchfit are upon us, with founding father gideon townsend taking the stage in time for opening curtain.  ❛  what’s this about my tonight show appearance being postponed?  ❜  he demands as soon as his assistant appears in the doorway, shoving the email alert right under her nose.  ❛  i know johnny-fucking-carson’s got nothing better to do than salivate over my wellness journey. i should be in a town car on my way to the bloody airport right now!  ❜

there was this whole idea that because linc’s father had passed everything on to idris, that linc was supposed to immediately respect him and fall in line. obviously that hadn’t been explicitly written in the will, but linc knew his father. william aldridge believed that everyone should follow his every order no matter what, his will was just another order that linc was expected to obey without question. he couldn’t. he couldn’t let some foster kid outsider take over his family’s legacy. “you haven’t kissed my ass at all, actually.” linc responded with a shrug, not bothering to look up from the paperwork he was working on. his older half brother ( as disgusting as that sounded ) may have been the ceo, but he knew nothing about the company. he was the worst person for the job. he looked up at him saying he was moving his stuff in, “did you lose your home already? this is why you shouldn’t be running my father’s company. you’ll kill it.”

    it’s all he can do not to bristle at lincoln’s demeanor, that grating i’m-never-wrong mentality he never outgrew with age. ignoring his childish taunts — rise above it, rise above it — idris begins to rummage through his belongings. a pencil cup here, a stapler there. the gold-embossed nameplate that read idris wells, ceo remains planted at the bottom.  ❛  it isn’t easy, you know,  ❜  he says suddenly, fishing a three-hole punch from his stash and placing it with a deliberate thunk.  ❛  turning the page, realizing that having everything isn’t as great as you once imagined — i wouldn’t expect you to understand.  ❜  his words aren’t meant to garner pity or inspire a change of heart. idris knows better than to expect empathy from someone who so clearly saw him as the villain.  ❛  but i’m not going anywhere. william left me the company for a reason, and i owe it to him to see this through. and yeah — it’d be a lot easier if you and lux didn’t fight me every step of the way, if the three of us could work together to help this place thrive.  ❜  paper clips, printer ink, more paper clips.  ❛  the truth is, you decided you didn’t like me before i even walked through those doors — i see that now.  ❜

@cvtalysts

    “Mind doing me a favor, sugar ?” Lorelai asks, turning to the stranger seated at the barstool beside her. It had been a long day of inventory at the boutique & all she wanted was a drink or three to end the day, so she found herself at some local bar – only to be hit on by the sort of creeps she wants nothing to do with. “Pretend you’re with me. Lazy eye over at the other end of the bar keeps tryin’ to send me a Sex on the Beach & after the third time rejecting it, I still don’t think he’s gettin’ the picture.” 

     nursing his club soda, a hand on his shoulder interrupts his usual stream of consciousness. richie can’t help but sneak a peek down the bar at the offender ( he’s only human ) and low and behold, a man was staring right at them, mouth hitched into an unsightly smile. gaze locked once more upon the much easier-on-the-eyes stranger, he wordlessly takes a step forward, sketching a closeness between them with an arm snaked cautiously around her waist.  ❛  what’s he doing now?  ❜  he whispers against the arc of her ear, a gesture that, from sex-on-the-beach’s viewpoint, had to scream territorial.  ❛  still staring?  ❜

this wasn’t something she was ready to do, but she’d made herself do it anyway. the worst thing would have been to not try in the first place and she couldn’t have that. her mouth went dry when the man – her brother – opened the door, “peanut butter patties.” she offered helpfully, and then it hit her what he was actually thinking. “oh! gosh! no. i’m… i’m not a girl scout.” she said, putting her hand out so he could put his wallet away ( as empty as it seemed to be ). “i…” she hesitated, unsure of how to proceed from here. “you’re billy shaw’s son.” she said, biting her lip before continuing, “i’m… billy shaw’s daughter.”

    ❛  what’re you saying? that you’re - that we’re…  ❜  not possible. no way, no how. as he liked to remind colt each time he was wrapped around a toilet bowl or about to fling himself from a rooftop, the only woman ( the only person ) billy shaw ever loved was his mother — and she left when he was just a baby, never to be seen again. but her nose, and those eyes. they were his father’s eyes. he’d recognize them anywhere — murky blue like an alabama creek, they stared back at him in the mirror every day.  ❛  what do you want?  ❜  he demands, gripping the door frame for support.  ❛  money? ‘cause, as you can see, we ain’t got none of that here. my old man did a stand-up job of making sure he left nothing behind when he kicked.  ❜  just as he’s about to send little red riding hood on her merry way, something in him shifts. sighing deeply, breath tinged with eau de budweiser from the night before, he inches the door open a little wider.  ❛  what’s your name, kid?  ❜

❝ i don’t think i’ll take you up on that offer anytime soon. ❞ she says, shaking her head. she just liked to watch the finished product of her videos when they were done being edited. sometimes, she forgot to mute her laptop. there didn’t need to be much discussion about it, did there? ❝ just how much did you hear, exactly? ❞ 

     ❛  enough to know how you make rent on time.  ❜  a knee-jerk chuckle at his own expense, eyes crinkling at the corners as he flashes a reassuring grin.  ❛  hey — no worries. seriously, it’s all good. your secret’s safe with me.  ❜  he might not be the brightest crayon in the box, but even jesse knows when a subject change is called for.  ❛  you hungry? i was gonna make an in-n-out run — gotta fuel up before i edit last night’s show.  ❜

❝ stop. ❞ she chokes out, pushing away from him. she can’t do this right now. she holds up her hand, engagement ring glimmering in the sunshine. ❝ you were gone. you just vanished, and i couldn’t wait around anymore. ❞ she’d spent five years chasing down leads, looking at every person who passed by, hoping that he would come back. and, after five years of moping and hoping, she’d decided that she needed to think about herself for a change. a year after that, she’d started dating the man who produced her show. ❝ where, exactly, do you want to go to talk? ❞

      over the sound of engines roaring and horns blaring, you can still hear his heart as it snaps in two.  ❛  you’re getting — no, that’s not possible. baby, how is that possible?  ❜  but there it was. the proof, right on her ring finger, gleaming brilliantly like the source of life itself.  ❛  nah, i — forget it. i’m sure you’ve got shit to do, and i’m late for...  ❜  asshole. he was an asshole for thinking she’d just hit pause for eight years. maybe ali was just a pipe dream he clung to, a reason to keep fighting on his worst nights.  ❛  just tell me one thing, alright? one thing and i won’t bother you again.  ❜  the weight of his words has him regretting them instantly. still, he pushes on, croaking out three solemn words.  ❛  are you happy?  ❜

dakota’s face scrunched in annoyance the moment she caught sight of the orange bottle, seeing it before she even heard damien speak. she caught the bottle when he threw it and made a noise of disgust almost immediately. she knew his heart was in the right place, but the pills turned her into a zombie. she wasn’t herself on them. “because everyone believes crystals heal everything.” she retorted, opening the bottle and looking at its contents before closing it and putting it on the table next to her. “some bitch the other day was saying how she rubbed healing rocks on her tits for three hours and her chest pains were gone. people are crazy here.” dakota caught the water bottle when he threw it at her, setting it on the table with the pills and raising an eyebrow, “you mean you didn’t enjoy being groped? i thought that was one of your favorite past times.” she ignored his comment about actually taking the medication deliberately, she refused to be a zombie.

    a relaxed huff leaves his lips the moment his back hits the mattress. the kola double tree wasn’t the classiest hotel they’ve inhabited by any stretch, but after the day he’s had, damien could sleep soundly on a slab of concrete.  ❛  fucking new age hippie bullshit.  ❜  he scoffs, reclining against the pillows and twisting the lid from his perrier.  ❛  it’s all just an excuse to screw over people with real problems — pills.  ❜  disappointed but not surprised as the bottle he’d spent the better half of an afternoon tracking down goes untouched. while he couldn’t make dakota take them ( shy of shoving them down her throat himself ) he’d do whatever it took to change her mind. he’s seen firsthand just how ugly things could get without them.  ❛  call me crazy, i but prefer to do my groping in places that aren’t college bars where the only shit on tap is piss beer and well vodka. i’m too old for that shit — pills, ko.  ❜

When the other walked in, Amber didn’t move from her place on the couch. She just slowly placed a bookmark in her book, and put it down on the table. “I really don’t think cutting down people is a good solution to all your problems.” If anything, cutting down people would just end up bringing more problems. But really, she wasn’t one to speak about such things. “If your boss calls, I’ll make sure to tell him and can go fuck himself with a chainsaw.”

    ❛  maybe — but a girl can dream, right?  ❜  it’s good they can laugh about it on days like today, but don’t be fooled by that humorous facade. tossing the pillow aside, she rolls on to her stomach and faces amber, considering her words with pursed lips.  ❛  fuck himself with a chainsaw. you mind if i steal that? it’ll come in handy next time a thrice-divorced stock broker sends back his truffle risotto for being, quote, too mushroom-y.  ❜

“this town sucks.” frankie threw herself onto rocky’s bed after kicking her shoes off in the hallway. she flopped face first into the other girl’s pillows and sighed deeply before rolling over. “i get why we had to come here… don’t get me wrong, i’m not stupid. but oh my god i hate this place.” she sighed again before propping herself up on her elbows, “tell me a story?” / @cvtalysts ( rocky )

     ❛  i know it’s hard. especially on days like today — tough to find a silver lining when everything feels so bleak.  ❜  a twinge of guilt ripples through her, but she swallows it down as she entangles her limbs with frankie’s — like one of those giant soft pretzels from the mall they pretended to hate back home.  ❛  what kind of story we talking?  ❜  she giggles, raking her teal-painted fingernails over the girl’s dark strands.  ❛  happy ending? sad? gone girl style’s my personal favorite — maybe that’s a little too close to home.  ❜  a pause, brows knitting in contemplation.  ❛  close your eyes. i’m taking you on vacation.  ❜

“it’s not a midlife crisis!” dj’s tone was exasperated as he spoke to his little brother. he’d been hearing it for a while now, that he was losing his shit and going off the deep end. but dj was just living his life. he wasn’t quitting his job and running off to join the circus, he was still pretty stable. but he’d gotten out of a very long term relationship and maybe he was living a little more spontaneously than he had in the past, but buying a new red sports car ( which he was still shocked he’d been able to afford ) didn’t mean he was having a midlife crisis. he just didn’t want to drive a focus anymore. he wanted something better. “besides, if me buying a car meant i was having a midlife crisis right now? that would mean i’m going to die at like… sixty. and i’m in good enough health for that to not happen.” / @cvtalysts ( freddie )

      an outlandish scoff falls as dj rolls up to the curb. as great as it was to have his brothers around again, freddy had grown far too placid in his role as family disappointment. turns out, both monty and dj were in just as much shit as he was — maybe even more, day depending.  ❛  she’s beautiful.  ❜  trailing his fingers along the cherry red exterior, he admires its craftsmanship with a twinge of envy. leather detailing and the loudest engine on the block — midlife crisis be damned, this was a car anyone would be lucky to drive. just as he’s calculating how many pub tabs he’d have to foot to convince dj to let his little brother take her out for a spin, a horrific thought crosses his mind.  ❛  not trying to spoil your fun, but i’m just curious — how exactly does a primary school teacher afford a brand new, fifty-thousand dollar sports car? don’t tell me you asked dad for the money.  ❜

“well if it isn’t my favorite customer,” molly said with a smile, walking up to kaz’s table. she knew she wasn’t supposed to have favorites, but it wasn’t like teaching where it was the kind of thing that actually mattered. kaz tipped well and he made good conversation, and he was the only one there that light, so molly got to actually talk to him instead of just working the rush. “i already put in your usual order… i figured you’d be coming in tonight.” / @cvtalysts ( kaz )

     pockets weighed down with loot, he yanks off the hood of his dark sweatshirt and makes a beeline for his usual table. the cracked face of his ten-dollar watch reads half past three, but while the rest of kola sleeps soundly, kas has just one thing on the brain — pancakes. after settling in for a few moments, a grin twitches at his lips at the sound of a familiar voice.  ❛  you’re too good to me, molly.  ❜  a dark curl dips into his eyes as he glances up, pleased to find his favorite waitress looming above.  ❛  well, you know what they say. no rest for the wicked. i’ll sleep when i’m dead — insert similar cliche here. how’s tonight?  ❜

👄 + character name / accepting.

     ❛  taylor’s definitely the wildest person i know. i was a little nervous when we first met, having watched her videos and all that, but she’s not the super intense, out there person you’d think she’d be. she’s actually pretty chill when you get to know her off camera. it’s not like i’m scared of her, or anything — she’s just a lot to handle in clickbait mode.  ❜

👄 + character name / accepting.

      ❛  for the last forty years, the title of creative director has always gone to a van kirk. we’re a close-knit dynasty. that’s just how things work around here. of course, my cousin just had to fall into bed with gq’s head writer and get disowned, leaving her spot at the company — and family gatherings — wide open. i thought it would go to another cousin, or even jax, but apparently midge had other plans for the position. she was a hotshot at her last job and it shows in the way she carries herself — but i’ve seen her work, and it’s lukewarm at best. my mother saw something in her i’ve yet to see, and until she retires or drops, she gets the final say. who knows? maybe she’ll surprise me. but i sincerely doubt it. as it stands right now, it seems she’s all talk and no action.  ❜

👄 + character name / accepting.

     ❛  jax represents everything midge and russell don’t understand and, to be blunt, it scares the shit out of them. they see him as a failure for not jumping for joy at the prospect of joining the family business, but i admire him for going off the beaten path. here’s the thing about my parents — if they weren’t so fixated on the concept of having this perfect, untarnished legacy, maybe they’d actually take the time to get to know their son. would it be easier if jax woke up one morning and decided to sign his soul over to the publishing hierarchy? sure, but he’s my baby brother — i’ll always have his back.  ❜

👄 + character name / accepting.

     ❛  every morning, i come into work and there’s cleo — in the window of her shop next door, smiling and waving hello. crazy as it sounds, i actually find myself looking forward to that wave, to our shared lunch hours — and i haven’t found myself looking forward to anything like that in a very long time. anyways, there are definitely worse ways to start your day. excuse the language, but that ex of hers is a moron for letting her go.  ❜