goodness gracious

Emery’s eyes were scanning the Black Swan. There was nothing like a drink or two to get her mind distracted from the long day; That, and maybe a friendly face to help her along. It was strange how the blonde felt so alone, even being in such a crowded place. Before her mind began to spiral, the petite woman noticed Isabelle and zig-zagged through the sea of the crowd to get to her. “Hey!” The grin on her face practically doubling over. “Shots sound amazing - but what if we both double-fist some shots and then make our way to the dance floor?” There was a tad bit of mischief in the way her eyes glimmered, shaking her shoulders playfully with a laugh at her pitch of an idea. “It’ll be fun! We can start a conga line!”

"Oh my god, you’re joking,” Isabelle said excitedly, recognizing the blonde’s voice from a mile away. A small chuckle escaped her lips as she contemplated Emery’s idea. Deep down, she knew alcohol wouldn’t solve her issues... but it sure would give her a fun night with a friend she adored. She was sold. “Well, I’ll definitely regret this, but––” Her eyes scanned the bar for the bartender as she flagged him down and signaled to double her order. “I hope you like vodka. Lots of it,” Isabelle mused, letting out another laugh, “I’ll need it if we’re conga line-ing.” Turning towards her friend, she wrapped her arm around her and gave her a little squeeze. “What brings you here, by the way? I’m so glad I caught you.”

Lina was at the bar just trying to do her post-shift de-stress and figured grabbing a drink and maybe some pub food might help. She was sitting next to another woman and was offered a shot of alcohol. Lina wasn’t one to say no to free unless it was offered to her by a man - in which case she would’ve left the bar. However, she didn’t get sketchy vibes from the woman next to her and shrugged. “I guess - but you’ll have to let me get the next round,” she offered. “What did you order off the shelf?”

Isabelle’s lips curved into a smile, happy the stranger would join her rather random ask. “Okay, that’s only fair,” she said coyly. Knowing herself, she’d try to sneak her credit card for the next round before the woman noticed anyway. “Oh, I got some Scottish whiskey.” It was rather pricey, but between living in London and New York, she got used to shelling out for extravagant alcohol. “I know, I know––it’s aggressively British of me,” she said, her accent present as always, “But I promise, this’ll be the best whiskey you’ve ever tried.” Turning towards her drinking partner, she caught sight of the glass already in front of her. “What were you having?”

Isabelle sat in the Black Swan, trying to find calm. Not many people would use this method, but she sure was wired differently. Something about the vibrant noises, social buzz, and hectic atmosphere put her at ease. It comforted her knowing there were people around, even if she had no clue who they were. She needed it after today, anyways. She'd never admit it, but she's bit off more than she can chew, juggling so many commitments and random investments. It’s all seeming to catch up to her, fatigue seeping in more and more each day. Hoping to get out of her head, she started speaking to the person next to her as she carefully eyed the top shelf, "Interested in a free shot? They told me I can only buy the ones up there in pairs, and, well, committing to two at once sounds like a bad idea."

Location: The Union Market & Gallery

Status: OPEN 

The brunette found herself nestled in the table located in the furthest corner. Papers were sprawled on top of the many books that lie open on the maple wood of the table - not an inch of wood could be seen. She wanted to be away from people, her current state one of being fully in-the-zone with what she was researching. At this point, Shiloh wouldn’t even notice if the stack of seven empty espresso cups at the corner of the table fell and shattered on the floor. Even with the white noise of the atmosphere around her, nothing was ticking her off more than the sound of a specific individual. “Could you go breathe somewhere else?” She didn’t even look up from the book she was skimming, her tone sugary yet fake like Splenda.

Isabelle could not sit still on a call. It was an odd habit of hers––she just had to pace around to focus on the person's voice in her ear. That all explained her wandering around Union Market & Gallery, catching up with an old college friend over the phone with latte in hand. The conversation wasn't long by any means, but it did give her a nice pick-me-up... That was, until she had hung up the phone and heard an angry voice directed at her. "Oh, sorry, my bad," she blurted out, her first instinct being to apologize. She wasn't in love with the woman's attitude, but by the looks of her expression and her disorganized table, Isabelle could recognize the stress from a mile away. "That all looks really important," she rambled, truly feeling bad, "Um, let me make it up to you––need a refill?"

“Oh yeah, there’s like a handful of old mountain superstitions from back home about New Year’s,” Drew spoke to the person next to her on a bar stool as she nibbled on a pasty at Sweet Delights. She wasn’t sure how she got on the topic of superstitions, but she was more than happy to (over)share. “There’s the one about if the first person to set foot in your house after New Year’s is a tall, dark-haired man you’re sure to have good luck the rest of the year. Oh, and then of course the one where you burn onion skins in the fireplace and eat black-eyed peas for good luck,” she rambled on. “Y’all got any traditions or superstitions?”

“Hm, so what if you yourself are a tall, dark-haired man?” Isabelle mused, genuinely curious about the superstitions, “Are you just lucky every year? That seems unfair... but I guess it really is a man’s world.” She nodded along as the woman explained the rest––they were clearly things she cared about, if not believed wholeheartedly. Isabelle found it endearing. “Oh, um, the only thing that comes to mind is that, my friends and I would always jump when the clock hits midnight,” she shared, “It’s something about making you taller. Clearly it’s never worked for me.” A small chuckle escaped her lips as she waved a hand over her rather small stature.

starter: open.

“Okay,” Mason started as he put down the half empty bottle of beer on the table. “Would you rather have everyone you know be able to read your thoughts or for everyone you know to have access to your internet history?” His lips curled up in the corners, forming a smirk as he waited for the other person to answer. Soft music playing from the live band that created a relaxed atmosphere within the bar. Mason hadn’t expected to be sat in the Wonder Bar, befriending a stranger, but right now it beat the stress of working with a difficult client.

Isabelle playfully rolled her eyes. She found it somewhat funny that he thought it’d stump her.  "Mase, this is a no brainer,” she answered matter-of-factly, taking a quick sip of her margarita. “Obviously internet history––Have you not heard of incognito mode? What are you, a boomer?” Isabelle didn’t consider herself a particularly secretive person, but the thought of someone peering into her mind at any time felt... dangerous. “I mean, I’m guessing you’d pick the same, right?” she asked in return, genuinely curious, “Okay, what about choosing between people being able to read your thoughts versus people being able to know about your future?”

(alisha boe, 26, cis female, she/her) ISABELLE SAXTON! i heard you’re working as a CO-OWNER at ROMERO PERFORMANCE CENTRE - do you like it? it’s pretty rad that you’re from LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM and that you’ve been here for FOUR YEARS, now. damn, time flies! i can tell that you’re a bit ASTUTE, TENDER, and SELF-INDULGENT, which means you’re probably fitting in around here just fine. you got that whole FLOWERS PRESSED IN BOOKS, THE CRACKLY SOUND OF AN OLD RECORD, WALKS IN THE PARK, AND SIMULTANEOUSLY REGRETTING NOTHING AND EVERYTHING thing going on and it sorta reminds me of APRIL COME SHE WILL by SIMON & GARFUNKEL. i hope i’ll be seeing you more down the shore! (kat, pst, 23, she/her, n/a)

hi everyone! kat here. it’s my first time rp’ing in a while, so i’m very very excited about this group hehe. i get great vibes (~: also enjoy my new bb isabelle. pls feel free to like this and i’ll bother you for plots in dm’s!