#event: annual spring fest.

[khalilhassan]

location — holy spirits, high tea

character — @lorelai-tseng

His usual run ins with Lorelai had ceased over time. He would shoulder most of the blame considering he'd all but limited himself to a few places within the city while he and the Cranes weren't seeing eye to eye. It was safer that way, even if she had her own ties to the family. For all he knew, Freddie, or perhaps even Nathan had already corrupted her thoughts of him. That seemed to be their game plan, anyway. Spread half truths, watch the world burn around him. "Long time, no see," he hummed, a playful pinky lifted as he sipped from his glass and bite back a smile. He wasn't elegant by any means and he was far too used to wearing a suit for it to make much of a difference. "Looking stunning as ever. I'm assuming that was the goal though." To no surprise, of course. She had a way of turning every head in a room and she knew it. "How've you been?"

[verdadurmaz]

location — holy spirits, high tea

character — @ediewelscr

Having been to a few spring celebrations in the city of Providence Peak, she could note that without a doubt, this was her favorite. Not only had it given her a proper reason to dress with the intention of impressing a room full of people, it had also given others the same idea. Beautiful dresses, tailored suits, wide smiles and intoxicating laughs filled the bar. Oddly enough, the classical covers of personal favorites had swaying in rhythm as she watched others do the same. Despite everything that had happened, she was happy. Relieved, even, that her heart raced for reasons that weren't going to flood her veins with wandering worry. "Your dress is gorgeous," she complimented, a smile hanging off the side of her mouth as dark hues trailed down the other's frame and back up again. "Did you ever think you'd be playing Bridgerton in Colorado? I didn't." And yet, now she couldn't imagine anything else being more fun than this.

[max-cortez]

location — a touch of ink, flash tattoos

character — @katerinadelarosa

Having already done a flash tattoo sale together, it only seemed fitting that he invited her to another. Of course, she had the luxury of skipping the long line out the door as he snuck her in through the back and guided her to his workspace. He was fortunate enough to have the day off, but he'd volunteered a few hours to help them keep up with the pace. It was only after they'd given the go ahead to call it quits that he opted to cash in a favor. "Any idea what you want? It's free." He had a few personalized sheet options for her to pick from, but ultimately, he'd do whatever she wanted for the sake of the welcoming of spring. "I was thinking about getting a bunny somewhere on my thigh. You think Adri would have our heads if we got another matching set?"

[atlaswilliams]

location — take it outdoors, kayak race

character — @derekxaranda

"On a scale of one to ten, how much of a chance do you think we have against everyone else? My shoulders aren't what they used to be, but my heart is totally in it." He peered down at the paddles and life vests that were theirs for the taking and meant for competition. If they won, they'd have a set of nice kayaks and while he'd never been one to get out on the water much, maybe this would change his mind. "How much do you think kayaks would run us? Just wondering how much I should put into this and if I should text Ken to get the icy-hot ready for when it's over."

[nadiamorgan]

location — a touch of ink

character — @jeanieprabhakar

Was there a better time to get a cover up tattoo? Fifty dollars was all it would take to wipe the remaining stitch of Boyd's existence on her body. A single lowercase letter could be turned into anything she wanted. A blooming flower to represent a fresh start, or a bunny with no meaning other than the intended purpose of leaving the letter covered. Whatever she picked wouldn't matter, not in the end. It would always be the tattoo that physically altered another, but didn't take away an ounce of the meaning. "Am I crazy for hopping into line on a whim? I was in the area and I saw the sign for a flash tattoo and thought, why not? Why not get an impulsive tattoo." It wasn't as if she hadn't had the same thought for years. Cover it up. Get rid of the letter, Nadia. Even in line, her confidence wavered. "What are you getting?"

[nadiamorgan]

high tea attire

[khalilhassan]

location — downtown at the vendors

character — @draslihanxfahri-bailey

The by-chance bump into Aslihan had left the pair roaming the various stands on each side of the street. They'd caught up, mostly, but there was still something he wanted to tell her. Something that didn't matter all that much, but a thought he assumed she'd appreciate nonetheless. "Speaking of your exhibit, I had a friend of mine ask me where I'd go if I could pick anywhere in the world." He let the curiosity build between a few steps before a small smile showed on his mouth and his gaze shifted to meet with hers. "I told him that because of our exhibit, I'd want to check out Egypt. There seems to be a lot more to be learned, and what better place to learn it than there?" If he ever got to travel, he'd make it the first stop on his list. Before the other got a chance to answer, Khalil put his arm out towards a food stand. "Do you mind? It's on me. All of this looking has me hungry."

[verdadurmaz]

location — lind dairy farm, goat yoga

character — @clarawilmore

Ever since her breakup, she'd avoided yoga on most occasions. Breathing wasn't the solution to everything and neither was a complicated pose. She'd checked the info sheet a hundred times just to make sure his name didn't pop up anywhere and after the hundredth time, she signed up for the course. Not because of the class itself, but because of the goats and the simple fact of supporting two of her closest friends. "The best part are the goats." She couldn't bite back the laugh that spilled from her mouth as she watched everyone settle into their spots. Soon enough, personal space wasn't going to be much of a thing. "Have you done this before? I know they try to make it a whole, but if I'm being honest, I just come to pet some goats and no one ever says anything to me. The yoga could be fun too, I guess?"

[max-cortez]

location — stomias amusement park

character — @ediewelscr

How they'd gone from barely looking at one another to willingly spending the day in the other's company was beyond him. Excitement flowed through his veins and dared to consume him whole. Maybe they weren't together, but to walk freely by her side without the worry of who would see them? It was refreshing. To know that in the end, they'd gotten the very thing he'd wanted more than anything, even if he'd ran far and fast in hopes of keeping her marriage intact. As it turned out, it wasn't him after all that kept it from being fixed. "You won't get me on any of those damn coasters. I'm serious. Don't even try to get up on that ferris wheel either. I'm only here for the food." There was a funnel cake stand somewhere close and between rides and that, he'd gravitate towards the sweet smell every single time. He stole a few looks in her direction, a crooked smile kept at bay on his mouth as he forced his gaze ahead of him. "You look nice." A compliment, unwarranted and most certainly underwhelming by comparison to what he wanted to say.

[verdadurmaz]

"I think you just signed yourself up for a few more sessions," she countered smoothly and a small smile. It felt more like a game of chicken. Would Emmy follow through? It was time that would tell and if she didn't, there would be no surprise in the pain that followed. It would be that same revolving door of madness that Tyler pointed out and so did everyone else in her life. She wondered, only briefly, what her friends would say if they knew. What would her mother say? The woman had barely given Emmy a look the last time she was in town, but how would that change once they crossed that big line? That line of commitment that some people never crossed, despite their deep love for one another? The line that they were going to cross after merely falling into bed with one another after months of being apart.

A breath lodged in her chest as she watched the chef move closer with the ring. A part of her hoped it wouldn't fit, but the moment it slide past her knuckle, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. It was there. It was on her finger, but that was the first step of many. Words evaded her as Emmy's captured her mouth in a kiss that offered warm and reassurance. The kind of kiss she'd longed for and now that she had it, didn't know how to live without it again. A hum of quiet laughter rolled off her tongue as they drifted apart, her gaze settling back on dark hues. "Let's do this," she echoed with a chest full of anticipation.

"They make suggestions and I try my best. But I doubt they're going to be that thrilled with me after this, not really part of our plan." Her therapist and her best friend both would be less than thrilled by this move. She knew that somewhere, wherever she was, Tyler was having a fit and she didn't realize why. She could already hear the woman's words in her head, the bright red warning flares going off as she held Amelie's old ring tightly between her fingers, Verda finally realizing that she was absolutely serious about what she was offering, as though there was ever a world where she would joke about this particular subject. Marriage had always been taboo to her, too much commitment to event think about except for the moment she was riding the high from being accepted on a reality cooking show and had purchased a ring with the intention of proposing if she'd managed to pull the show off. If that experience had taught her anything, it was that maybe marriage was too much for her, a sense of commitment that possibly scared her into causing the entire meltdown of their relationship in the first place.

But this time... this time she was serious and she was willing to make that jump if it meant proving it to the woman in her bed. "I am," Emmy nodded, reassuring the other that she was more than willing to go through with this if it proved her point. Did she feel ready? That was another question entirely, considering all she did was fall into bed with Ver and suddenly she was basically proposing. Though they'd be fooling anyone if they claimed their relationship had ever completely stopped with their back and forth over the years. Her chest swelled in a way she hadn't expected when she slipped the ring on the other's finger, somehow fitting perfectly, as though it was meant for her all along. Emmy's lips curved into a soft smile. "Look at that, a perfect fit." With the ring firmly placed on Verda's finger, she met the other's gaze in the dim light of the room before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her lips that was the complete opposite of the desperate hunger they'd made their way into the apartment with just hours before. Her thumb brushed along the smooth skin of Ver's cheek and she pressed another barely-there kiss to the tip of the woman's nose before pulling back entirely. "Let's do this."

[atlaswilliams]

location — downtown at the vendors

character — @elifalvey

His chest ached from the night before, sleep deprivation daring to catch up with him as he waited for his fresh cut fries to come out. He heard a familiar voice near him, leaving the taller male to turn, gaze catching the handsome grin of the very person he should have been conflicted to see. Except he wasn't, not even in the slightest of ways. In fact, he was almost excited to have another run in with the very person he'd connected to with utter ease. "Hey you," he called out, hands deep in the front pockets of his jeans. Suddenly, he wasn't all that hungry, even if the smell had nearly driven him mad moments earlier. "How's it going? You here with someone, or can I steal you away for a bit? Fresh fries included. I'll even let you pick a condiment."

[nadiamorgan]

location — lind dairy farm, goat yoga

character — @rjxlind

Despite knowing there was still another half hour before the yoga kicked off and the farm opened up to the public, Nadia was pulling up anyway with two coffees in her center cup holders — one for him, and of course, one for her. She'd sent a text alerting him of her arrival and within a few moments, she was smiling wide as he came into view. "I figured you could use a pick me up before the big day gets started. I was thinking about sticking around for the goat yoga too. I've heard a lot of people talking about today. Who knew goat yoga was such a hit?"

[khalilhassan]

location — stomias point

character — @sophramirxz

Things weren't seamless between them, but he'd done enough damage control that they weren't bad either. At least, not by comparison to the damage that he assumed Freddie had wanted to cause by disturbing the peace. Which, given the chance, he'd have to inquire about for the sake of telling the other man to leave her the hell out of it. For the day, more so, for the whole week, he didn't want to think about anything other than her. "Alright, hear me out. We do some big rides, then we get some lunch, and then we checkout the smaller stuff? You know, put the thrill rides on pause while our food settles." He tried his best to ignore the fact that the Cranes funded the two hour wristbands they were currently wearing. Make the most of it, right? "And if we run out of time with these, I'll cover the rest. You've got more experience here than I do, so it's your call."

[atlaswilliams]

"You know they're making another show about the Queen, right? I'm not saying it'd be pretty cool if came over and watched it at my place, but it could be fun." He'd go as far as making food and whipping up a drink for the occasion. It'd be the perfect night of Bridgerton binging. "Tell me about it, man. Can you believe that I might have gotten into an argument on reddit with someone who said that season two didn't hold up to the first season? I mean, come on. How can anyone say that? It's not even a competition. Daphne was cool and all, but Kate? No comparison."

He no longer allowed himself to be caught up in the politics of the night. Before Alex and Aslihan had showed up, perhaps he could sank as low as entertaining the idea of what could happen, but with his children and Ken around, he preferred the straight and narrow path of staying out of trouble entirely. "Everyone is looking for that next big scandal. I'd still support you even if you were caught up in one. You could say you were with me all, but I don't know if that helps?" Some still considered him trouble by association, but in his defense, it'd been months since he'd gotten himself into anything worth reporting. "She's around here somewhere. You know her, she's a force."

"I think everyone can agree on that," Danny nodded. The Sharma sisters were something special and he'd spent pretty much all of the second season marvelling at how beautiful they both were. It was helped by the fact that the show was so bingeable, too easy to get sucked into the drama. "Anthony and Kate had way more going for them than Daphne and Simon. Man, if you could bottle chemistry like that..."

He laughed at the sincerity in Atlas' voice. To his credit, the idea of the man being intimidated by any guy was a little funny. It was hard to dislike Atlas, but he was definitely the kind of guy that insecure assholes would size up, pretending they had any chance of taking him. Glancing around the room, he shook his head. He'd seen Rachel around earlier, thought maybe he'd bother her about the drink she owed him later, but otherwise he was content with simply drinking the evening in with the company of his friends. "Nah. Everybody looks great, but with everyone's minds on drama I think it's probably safer to go home alone tonight. What about you? Where's Ken tonight?"

[verdadurmaz]

location — frederick's farm

character — @koh-eugene

She was appreciative of the homemade lemonade and popcorn, but she wasn't about to climb into a hot air balloon this time around. There was no jerk to sway her into taking a chance, and no Emmy to pull her into one either. So, her seat of choice was near the animals while everyone else seemed keen on jumping into a line to go up above for a view that would have been beautiful had she not been so damn afraid of heights. "Are you doing the hot air balloon ride? It's pretty, if you don't mind heights. I've done it more times than I'd like, but I think I'm sitting out this year." She raised her lemonade slightly, a small grin on her mouth. She was happy with how things were going, why push that with a trip into the sky? "If you haven't tried the fresh lemonade yet, you definitely should."

[max-cortez]

location — downtown at the vendors

character — @lenayener

He bobbed and he weaved through various vendor booths, each othering different products to appeal to virtually everyone. He'd sipped on wines, tried a variation of liquors, and had snacked on more samples of fudge than he'd ever had in his entire life. The downtown area was even more full of life than it usually was and while it caused hope to bloom in his chest, there were still too many factors that left him wondering what would happen next. The overthinking was paused by a street artist working on what seemed to be a sketch of the downtown area itself. It was beautifully done, every line perfectly placed on the canvas in a way he admired. "It's crazy," he hummed, more so to himself before he realized another had stopped to take a look at what was being drawn. "That's the kind of art I like. The real stuff. The line work and the focus... makes me feel like an amatuer."