enlightenedsâ:
  âIâve got no reason not to be sure of myself, Dashiel.â Oh, she knows his nickname, of course â but anything to get under his skin, âMy 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. Itâs over your head. So just make sure it happens, otherwise I might not be so cooperative in the future.â Zaraâs 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 â at least, thatâs how she sees his actions. âIf you say thereâs no space â then make it. We donât need that bikini shoot â itâs the February issue, for godâs sake.âÂ
   â the editor-in-chief may be over my head, but you, zara, are not â and if this is you being cooperative, it raises some serious red flags about your future here. â with talks of retirement on the brain, itâs only a matter of time before his seat at the top is vacated â and dash is all-too-eager to wield that power. verve is his birthright, the brass ring heâs been reaching for since adolescence. when her new era is finally underway, a smug creative director undermining his authority is the last thing heâll stand for. â youâve got a lot of nerve, barging in here and making demands. if you have a problem with the final print, take it upstairs. iâm sure my mother would be elated to take time out of her busy schedule to stroke your wounded ego. â
4 notes
¡
View notes
   â delong! get in here. â 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. â  whatâs this about my tonight show appearance being postponed?  â he demands as soon as his assistant appears in the doorway, shoving the email alert right under her nose. â  i know johnny-fucking-carsonâs 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! â
@cntcrtainmcntââ / gideon & raphaelle
0 notes
dcnouementâ:
there was this whole idea that because lincâs father had passed everything on to idris, that linc was supposed to immediately respect him and fall in line. obviously that hadnât 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 couldnât. he couldnât let some foster kid outsider take over his familyâs legacy. âyou havenât kissed my ass at all, actually.â 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, âdid you lose your home already? this is why you shouldnât be running my fatherâs company. youâll kill it.â
  itâs all he can do not to bristle at lincolnâs demeanor, that grating iâm-never-wrong mentality he never outgrew with age. ignoring his childish taunts â rise above it, rise above it â 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. â  it isnât easy, you know,  â he says suddenly, fishing a three-hole punch from his stash and placing it with a deliberate thunk. â  turning the page, realizing that having everything isnât as great as you once imagined â i wouldnât expect you to understand.  â his words arenât 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. â  but iâm not going anywhere. william left me the company for a reason, and i owe it to him to see this through. and yeah â itâd be a lot easier if you and lux didnât fight me every step of the way, if the three of us could work together to help this place thrive.  â paper clips, printer ink, more paper clips. â the truth is, you decided you didnât like me before i even walked through those doors â i see that now.  â
3 notes
¡
View notes
enlightenedsâ:
@cvtalysts
   âMind doing me a favor, sugar ?â 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 â only to be hit on by the sort of creeps she wants nothing to do with. âPretend youâre with me. Lazy eye over at the other end of the bar keeps tryinâ to send me a Sex on the Beach & after the third time rejecting it, I still donât think heâs gettinâ the picture.âÂ
   nursing his club soda, a hand on his shoulder interrupts his usual stream of consciousness. richie canât help but sneak a peek down the bar at the offender ( heâs 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.  â  whatâs he doing now? â he whispers against the arc of her ear, a gesture that, from sex-on-the-beachâs viewpoint, had to scream territorial. â  still staring? â
3 notes
¡
View notes
dcnouementâ:
this wasnât something she was ready to do, but sheâd made herself do it anyway. the worst thing would have been to not try in the first place and she couldnât have that. her mouth went dry when the man â her brother â opened the door, âpeanut butter patties.â she offered helpfully, and then it hit her what he was actually thinking. âoh! gosh! no. iâm⌠iâm not a girl scout.â she said, putting her hand out so he could put his wallet away ( as empty as it seemed to be ). âiâŚâ she hesitated, unsure of how to proceed from here. âyouâre billy shawâs son.â she said, biting her lip before continuing, âiâm⌠billy shawâs daughter.â
  â  whatâre you saying? that youâre - that weâre⌠ â  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 â and she left when he was just a baby, never to be seen again. but her nose, and those eyes. they were his fatherâs eyes. heâd recognize them anywhere â murky blue like an alabama creek, they stared back at him in the mirror every day.  â  what do you want?  â  he demands, gripping the door frame for support.  â  money? âcause, as you can see, we ainât got none of that here. my old man did a stand-up job of making sure he left nothing behind when he kicked.  â  just as heâs 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.  â  whatâs your name, kid?  â
3 notes
¡
View notes
princesscsâ:
â i donât think iâll take you up on that offer anytime soon. â 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 didnât need to be much discussion about it, did there? â just how much did you hear, exactly? âÂ
   â enough to know how you make rent on time. â a knee-jerk chuckle at his own expense, eyes crinkling at the corners as he flashes a reassuring grin.  â hey â no worries. seriously, itâs all good. your secretâs safe with me. â he might not be the brightest crayon in the box, but even jesse knows when a subject change is called for. â you hungry? i was gonna make an in-n-out run â gotta fuel up before i edit last nightâs show. â
4 notes
¡
View notes
princesscsâ:
â stop. â she chokes out, pushing away from him. she canât do this right now. she holds up her hand, engagement ring glimmering in the sunshine. â you were gone. you just vanished, and i couldnât wait around anymore. â sheâd 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, sheâd decided that she needed to think about herself for a change. a year after that, sheâd started dating the man who produced her show. â where, exactly, do you want to go to talk? â
   over the sound of engines roaring and horns blaring, you can still hear his heart as it snaps in two. â youâre getting â no, thatâs not possible. baby, how is that possible? â but there it was. the proof, right on her ring finger, gleaming brilliantly like the source of life itself. â nah, i â forget it. iâm sure youâve got shit to do, and iâm late for... â asshole. he was an asshole for thinking sheâd 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. â  just tell me one thing, alright? one thing and i wonât bother you again.  â the weight of his words has him regretting them instantly. still, he pushes on, croaking out three solemn words.  â  are you happy? â
8 notes
¡
View notes
dcnouementâ:
dakotaâs 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 wasnât herself on them. âbecause everyone believes crystals heal everything.â she retorted, opening the bottle and looking at its contents before closing it and putting it on the table next to her. âsome 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.â dakota caught the water bottle when he threw it at her, setting it on the table with the pills and raising an eyebrow, âyou mean you didnât enjoy being groped? i thought that was one of your favorite past times.â 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 wasnât the classiest hotel theyâve inhabited by any stretch, but after the day heâs had, damien could sleep soundly on a slab of concrete. â fucking new age hippie bullshit. â he scoffs, reclining against the pillows and twisting the lid from his perrier.  â itâs all just an excuse to screw over people with real problems â pills.  â disappointed but not surprised as the bottle heâd spent the better half of an afternoon tracking down goes untouched. while he couldnât make dakota take them ( shy of shoving them down her throat himself ) heâd do whatever it took to change her mind. heâs seen firsthand just how ugly things could get without them.  â call me crazy, i but prefer to do my groping in places that arenât college bars where the only shit on tap is piss beer and well vodka. iâm too old for that shit â pills, ko. â
2 notes
¡
View notes
cntcrtainmcntâ:
When the other walked in, Amber didnât move from her place on the couch. She just slowly placed a bookmark in her book, and put it down on the table. âI really donât think cutting down people is a good solution to all your problems.â If anything, cutting down people would just end up bringing more problems. But really, she wasnât one to speak about such things. âIf your boss calls, Iâll make sure to tell him and can go fuck himself with a chainsaw.â
  â maybe â but a girl can dream, right? â itâs good they can laugh about it on days like today, but donât 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. â fuck himself with a chainsaw. you mind if i steal that? itâll come in handy next time a thrice-divorced stock broker sends back his truffle risotto for being, quote, too mushroom-y. â
2 notes
¡
View notes
dcnouementâ:
âthis town sucks.â frankie threw herself onto rockyâs bed after kicking her shoes off in the hallway. she flopped face first into the other girlâs pillows and sighed deeply before rolling over. âi get why we had to come here⌠donât get me wrong, iâm not stupid. but oh my god i hate this place.â she sighed again before propping herself up on her elbows, âtell me a story?â / @cvtalysts ( rocky )
   â i know itâs hard. especially on days like today â tough to find a silver lining when everything feels so bleak. â a twinge of guilt ripples through her, but she swallows it down as she entangles her limbs with frankieâs â like one of those giant soft pretzels from the mall they pretended to hate back home. â what kind of story we talking? â she giggles, raking her teal-painted fingernails over the girlâs dark strands.  â  happy ending? sad? gone girl styleâs my personal favorite â maybe thatâs a little too close to home. â a pause, brows knitting in contemplation.  â close your eyes. iâm taking you on vacation. â
2 notes
¡
View notes
dcnouementâ:
âitâs not a midlife crisis!â djâs tone was exasperated as he spoke to his little brother. heâd 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 wasnât quitting his job and running off to join the circus, he was still pretty stable. but heâd 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 heâd been able to afford ) didnât mean he was having a midlife crisis. he just didnât want to drive a focus anymore. he wanted something better. âbesides, if me buying a car meant i was having a midlife crisis right now? that would mean iâm going to die at like⌠sixty. and iâm in good enough health for that to not happen.â / @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 â maybe even more, day depending. â sheâs beautiful. â 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 â midlife crisis be damned, this was a car anyone would be lucky to drive. just as heâs calculating how many pub tabs heâd have to foot to convince dj to let his little brother take her out for a spin, a horrific thought crosses his mind. â not trying to spoil your fun, but iâm just curious â how exactly does a primary school teacher afford a brand new, fifty-thousand dollar sports car? donât tell me you asked dad for the money. â
2 notes
¡
View notes
dcnouementâ:
âwell if it isnât my favorite customer,â molly said with a smile, walking up to kazâs table. she knew she wasnât supposed to have favorites, but it wasnât 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. âi already put in your usual order⌠i figured youâd be coming in tonight.â / @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 â pancakes. after settling in for a few moments, a grin twitches at his lips at the sound of a familiar voice. â  youâre too good to me, molly.  â a dark curl dips into his eyes as he glances up, pleased to find his favorite waitress looming above. â  well, you know what they say. no rest for the wicked. iâll sleep when iâm dead â insert similar cliche here. howâs tonight?  â
2 notes
¡
View notes
matty / đ + taylor
đ + character name / accepting.
   â taylorâs definitely the wildest person i know. i was a little nervous when we first met, having watched her videos and all that, but sheâs not the super intense, out there person youâd think sheâd be. sheâs actually pretty chill when you get to know her off camera. itâs not like iâm scared of her, or anything â sheâs just a lot to handle in clickbait mode. â
1 note
¡
View note
dash / đ+ zara
đ + character name / accepting.
   â for the last forty years, the title of creative director has always gone to a van kirk. weâre a close-knit dynasty. thatâs just how things work around here. of course, my cousin just had to fall into bed with gqâs head writer and get disowned, leaving her spot at the company â and family gatherings â 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 â but iâve seen her work, and itâs lukewarm at best. my mother saw something in her iâve yet to see, and until she retires or drops, she gets the final say. who knows? maybe sheâll surprise me. but i sincerely doubt it. as it stands right now, it seems sheâs all talk and no action.  â
1 note
¡
View note
dash / đ + jax
đ + character name / accepting.
   â jax represents everything midge and russell donât 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. hereâs the thing about my parents â if they werenât so fixated on the concept of having this perfect, untarnished legacy, maybe theyâd 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 heâs my baby brother â iâll always have his back. â
1 note
¡
View note
đ + Cleo/Emmett
đ + character name / accepting.
   â every morning, i come into work and thereâs cleo â 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 â and i havenât 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. â
2 notes
¡
View notes