#filed ; closed starter

[bekturan]

location: bread and butter

status: closed for @dakotaheise

Bek was utterly mystified by the way her brain worked.

The last time she’d seen Dakota she couldn’t remember for the life of her where to find adobo seasoning (was it with the general spices or in the ethnic aisle?) despite shopping at Bell’s all thirty-three years of her life, yet she remembered their exchange, brief as it might’ve been. 

With a warm smile and a near silent self-deprecating laugh at her own shortcomings she wandered over to where Liv’s younger sister sat. 

“Hey, Kota.” The smile on her face grew wider while she paused just shy of the table. “How did you luck out with the rest of that list the other day?” A tiny pang of guilt echoed in her chest at having been called away for work before she could really be much help. “Did you find what you needed?”

[tessabhrams]

location: Covington's 12th Annual Valentine Date Night Auction

status: closed for @drewparrish

Married. Married. Married. Ryan was married—

The realization she'd had twenty minutes ago didn't gently ebb and flow through Tess' thoughts. It hammered around in her head with the gale force winds of a hurricane. Because Ryan, her Ryan, was married. Still married.

And that woman who'd outbid her at the last second? She was Ellie Parrish. His wife.

Maybe she'd only imagined the subtle glee she'd taken in introducing herself by the last name Tess always imagined claiming herself one day. Maybe it didn't matter if she did. Either way, her stomach still roiled at the news. It'd taken her this long to even show up for her 'date' because she'd spent every second since in the restroom, genuinely worried she'd be sick.

Because Ryan was still married. And that made her the world's biggest idiot.

Tess dropped into the seat across from Drew with none of her usual smiles or grace, eyes wide, unblinking, and vacant. A soft, near silent, "Sorry," was all she could manage to explain her tardy appearance.

Honestly, she'd almost left. Sitting there, she questioned whether she should've. The only thing that kept her planted in that seat was the fact that she couldn't stand up Drew so publicly.

Well. That and the fact that it'd raise a lot of eyebrows after she'd practically maxed out his bids, and she wanted to deal with that about as much as she wanted to scan the room and see them. Because they were there. Somewhere. Ryan's wife just dropped a check for five grand to make sure of it.

"Sorry," Tess mumbled again, finally blinking her way out of her silent stupor. "Sorry," She repeated again when she tried, and likely failed, to find the smile she'd spent a lifetime crafting for the audience. After clearing her throat, she murmured, "You probably have a lot of questions right now."

And so long as they had to do with why she'd landed a date with him - her ex boyfriend's brother - and not where she'd been for the last twenty minutes, she'd at least try to answer them.

[camgarza]

location: Covington's 12th Annual Valentine Date Night Auction

status: closed for @arjunshekhawat

It's for charity, Cami reminded herself as the clock neared ten. For charity, for charity, for charity— Her apparent date of the evening stepped into view. She flashed a small, tentative smile in greeting.

She didn't let herself pause to wonder if her ex-husband was watching while she stood up to give Arjun - that was his name, right? - a quick hug. Didn't acknowledge the nerves twisting her stomach into knots, either.

All she said was, "Hi," and it slipped from her just as uncertain as her first smile had been, prompting a somewhat sheepish laugh. "It's, uh, it's been awhile since I've done anything like this."

There was no point in confessing she wasn't even meant to be on that stage for bids. Unexpected and unintentional as this whole sitation might've been, for better or worse she was in it. No need to ruin his night, or his fun, because of it.

So she stood there and kept smiling, unsure if she should retake her seat. "I'm Camila, by the way." Cami for short. "I actually, uh, I think we might've been a grade apart back in high school."

[touchbased]

open to: m / f / nb muse: sydney eastwood. mid twenties. bisexual. middle school teacher with a quiet disposition and a love of things she can never have. plot: super cliche we made a marriage pact when we were dumb kids but i always took it kind of seriously and wait, what do you mean you're engaged? goodiness

"sorry, what?" pretty sure she blacked out for a few moments there, as though unable to hear anything but the ringing in her ears. tries to straighten her posture and offer up a dismissive laugh. "you're... you're engaged?"

[berksozeri]

location: the dog park

status: closed for @rachelhargrove

"Have you ever seen a more unlikely pair of friends?" A gruff, quiet chuckle scraped at the top of Berk's throat to punctuate the rhetorical question, his eyes locked on Kev and Walter as they chased each other across the park.

Nobody could claim the agile, long legged retriever and tiny little dauschaund made a whole lot of sense; they were about as similar as night and day. 

Although, to be fair, he guessed the same could be said about them. 

The corner of his mouth twitched, a betrayal to his attempted-to-be-stifled smile. Then Berk reached into the paper sack between them and pulled out a bag of chips. Her grabbing coffee for morning meetups, him grabbing lunch if their schedules aligned after twelve— it'd become routine by now.

"So," he paused just long enough to toss a handful into his mouth, his stare volleying between the dogs and her profile, "how's the book coming along?"

[ediewelscr]

❝ at lunch box with @lorelai-tseng —

"Does taking a cooking class solo scream 'independent woman' to you, or is it giving more 'I've been here for months and still haven't made many friends' vibes of bored desperation?" A barely touched sandwich in one hand, her phone in the other, Edie flicked a glance to the occupied table beside her.

She wasn't stalling in an effort to avoid the real work waiting for her, but— okay. She was stalling.

Her writers block was still at an all time high, hence her foray into the local college's personal enrichment classes. "I'm not actually sure I care either way," her mouth took on a subtle curve, "but outside opinions are appreciated regardless."

[thehumanhalf]

@captainseamech liked for a random Thalia starter!

Getting moved around for mission's and assignment's was something that Thalia wasn't a stranger too, but she would admit this would be her first time being sent to an island.

She had heard a lot about griffin rock over the years, the testing bed for all kinds of new experimental technologies and gadgets, her mom would go on and on about how much she wished she had the time to visit and see it for herself, so consider Thalia's surprise when good old prime sought her out and told her that apparently cybernian's had started living in the island in open, and he was hoping she could check on things for him since while it had been quiet at base on her end, he was a bit too busy to check in himself. That made sense.

So here she was now, wandering the footpath on the outside of town, paper in hand and bag in the other, eye's scanning the view of the ocean she had just crossed in awe, before a shifting mass of blue caught her eye from the corner of her vision and she looked over to the side of the beach. That was a transformer if she had ever seen one (which she has). She was quick to glance back at the paper in her hands then at bot with his back to her. Blue? Check. Orange highlights? check. An absolute unit? Double check. This was definitely the guy, but with optimus's descriptions, she was honestly expecting the mech to be taller then OP himself. Either way, she tucked the paper into her back pocket, placing her bag on the ground next to her before crossing her arms and leaning on the handrail that separated the edge of town from the beach below, calling out with a grin that stretch across her lips.

❝ Hey big guy! You wouldn't happen to be Captain Hightide would you? ❞

[selincakar-archive]

location: the silk road

status: closed for @jesseelmassalamy

Selin never did make it around to help Jesse with that tree. As it turned out, manning a shop solo during the holidays didn’t lend much free time. Not that she was all that qualified on proper Christmas decorating techniques, anyway. 

A Muslim upbringing - apparently half on his part, whole on hers - was one of the newest and unexpected things she learned they shared in common. Okay— so far it was the only thing beyond a shared past in Boston that she knew they shared in common, but hopefully tonight would change that. 

She must have tried on seventeen different outfits before meeting him in town for dinner. Questioned whether he’d meant the invitation as a date or not-a-date double that amount. At least twice she even considered showing up in socks and sandals (I’m not a barbarian, she’d assured him that night, of course they’re fine) but given the weather decided to spare her toes the risk of frostbite. 

Yet all those wonderings and worries and second turned third guesses vanished once they were actually sat across from each other, surrounded by the rich scent of Mediterranean food and quiet chatter.

“I can say ‘tacos please’ in six different languages, I nearly had to repeat ninth grade because of math, and my favorite color is lavender.” Twirling her straw around in her glass Sey smirked. “Go ahead, Mr. Human Lie Detector. Which one is false?”

[strykingback]

Starter for @mamismultimuse! _________________________

OST: Blumenkranz

Hermes was slowly coming to as he only remembered fighting against many COVERS while helping many of his allies escape the wrath of Ragyo Kiryuuin... and yet when he defeated one another took its place and when he defeated two of them. Three more took its place of the last and when Hermes was at his weakest.... he finally was out of energy when he passed out...... Yet, when he slowly opened his eyes he just looked up and saw a bright light. "Did I finally.... die?" He said and if he did.....then he hoped his own allies would remember him for his noble sacrifice... yet he was floating upon... water. When he was finally moving his arms he would finally stand up.... and he would....see some beautiful architecture amongst a grand bathroom....

"This HAS to be a joke...." Hermes said before realizing he was in the VERY NUDE. "Shite... and whoever removed my clothes... I swear to the Brothers Grimm that I will kill the person and maybe even destroy this very bath with especially one with such an insane ego...." Hermes

[trainxfallen]

@audaxbellator 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚊 𝚂𝙸𝙽𝙳𝙰𝚈 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝚁 !

𝙱𝚄𝙲𝙺𝚈 rolled over in the large bed, sun shining through to cast a warm glow on his bare back, the hint of his briefs being the only clothes he was wearing. The urge to 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝒀 in bed ever more 𝑨𝑳𝑳𝑼𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮 when his eyes laid on 𝙽𝙰𝚃.

❝ Why don't we just 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝒀 𝑰𝑵? ❞ He asked with a playful smirk. Letting 𝙽𝙰𝚃 being around more often while he regained his memory proved to be a 𝑯𝑬𝑳𝑷𝑭𝑼𝑳 component, but only brought them even back to that 𝑭𝑨𝑴𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑨𝑹 closeness even faster. ❝ We could even order breakfast. ❞

[casfonsecasantcs]

❝ at the apartment with @boyd-connors —

“— all I’m sayin’ is that we’ll find a way to make it work. Whatever she needs, whenever she needs it, we’ll figure it out, yeah? Everything is going to be fine.” And despite what her manic mixing seemed to imply, Cassia truly believed it. She had not choice but to believe it. 

When Boyd came home with a wad of wrinkled pamphlets in his hand, the words ‘hearing loss’ on his lips, she hadn’t known what to think. But now, now that she’d had time to mull it over (thrice) and come up with a game plan, she was hellbent and determined to see them past this hurdle, too.

If the school’s suspicions were right - if Mattie’s slip in grades and focus really was an auditory issue - they’d get her the help she needed. End of.

“Here.” Having just popped her latest batch of cupcakes in the oven, Cas crossed the short distance of their too cramped kitchen and shoved a batter covered spoon in Boyd’s face, keeping with tradition. Around a second, equally coated spoon she mumbled, “Have you set up any appointments for testing yet?”

[bekturan]

location: outside of her apartment, downtown

status: closed for @ryanparrish

Covington was no Anchorage but even Georgia temperatures dropped once winter rolled around— especially an hour after midnight. Most sane people were already in bed or, at the very least, safely tucked behind their doors and wrapped in the embrace of artificial heat.

Not Bek.

Sat crisscross applesauce on the front stoop of her building, laptop balanced on her knees and a full gallon of ice cream just to the side of it, she pondered the screen. She knew where she wanted this to go, knew what she was hoping to achieve. Her brain just didn't want to supply the steps to get there.

A huff of frustration billowed out through her lips in a tiny cloud. Pointless. It was pointless. She might as well give up and go waste the rest of the night with some Netflix.

Might've, too, if the staccato of boots on concrete didn't draw her eye forward to the street. Even in the dark, lit only by the evenly spaced lamps down the block, recognition hit instantly.

"Hey." A tiny smile curved into place. She didn't ask what he was doing out so late. Ask if, like her, Ryan couldn't sleep. She didn't wonder where he was going, or where he'd just been, either.

Glancing toward her hoard of snacks she just wrapped the sleeves of her hoodie over her hands, shuffled over to make room, and said, "You hungry?"

[tessabhrams]

location: his house

status: closed for @ryanparrish

The situation felt a little too close to how she'd shown up at Ryan's door all those weeks ago, the only difference being that time her stomach knotted with what suspiciously felt like hope. This time, as she slid from the driver's seat the only thing Tess could call the beast in her belly was dread.

Unfortunately, she couldn't just get back in the car and continue avoiding this conversation any longer. It'd been long enough since the night of the auction, upset stomach be damned.

Still, her approach wasn't immediate. No. Tess eyed the door to his trailer with a healthy dose of trepidation for a solid minute before her feet finally got with the program.

Loosing a sigh from her lips she palmed her keys, then rapped a few closed fist knocks to get his attention. Assuming he was even home.

Was he home?

She probably should've called first. Except any amount of warning to her arrival would've only given Ryan time to formulate an excuse. An explanation as to how, exactly, he was still married when he'd point blank swore the opposite years ago.

Call her hypocritical (she'd kept her own secrets out of their letters) but the revelation of his absolutely still real marriage vows felt different from not disclosing Waverly sooner. Keeping news of her daughter away from his ears was still a shade dishonest, but it hadn't been a bold faced lie.

Just thinking about their parallel predicaments reignited a searing heat in her blood.

Married. Still married.

Tess barely managed to swallow the sound of her self-directed scoff when, at last, the door swung wide... and there he was. Ryan Parrish. The man she once assumed she'd spend her entire life with and now couldn't help but study like a stranger.

It killed her— Noting that difference between past and present. Between moving home and learning his carefully kept, blissfully wedded truth.

This wasn't how their story was supposed to go.

"I think it's time we talked." To Tess' credit she bravely jutted her chin, but her heart gave an unsteady gallop when she followed with the barbed quip, "Unless your wife is home?"

[camgarza]

location: bread and butter

status: closed for @calliemontgomery

It'd been such a brief exchange - no more than ten or so minutes spent between two women with similar goals - and yet, when Cami's gaze landed on Callie across the room, recognition hit instantly.

Sauntering over, hands loosely slipped into the pockets of her thin jacket, she paused near enough to muse, "I never did bump into you again at the auction. How went your date with that bottle of rose?"

She'd meant to find her again, had meant to suggest maybe one day they meet up to share a bottle wine... and then SImone happened. Faced with a contestant who never showed and a spot to fill her so-called 'friend' thrust Cami out onto stage on a whim.

After that, nothing about the rest of her night went to plan.

[w1redsmile]

could i borrow someone's thoughts on this graphic im working on by chance

[berksozeri]

location: amélie's

status: closed for @alesolcno

Animals, nature, long days and even longer nights spent in absolute solitude— Berk was far more adept at handling those than he was engaging with other people. So it kind of begged the question: what the hell was he doing, poking his nose where it didn't necessarily belong?

Short answer? He didn’t know. 

The only reason he could think to explain this current deviation from his standard MO was that something about watching Alejandra move around town, worn photograph clutched in her hand, hit too close to home. Felt too much like his own search.

The one he'd mostly, supposedly, put to bed five years ago.

It was nearly impossible not to think about Deniz now, or the man who'd taken her from this world, but he tried. Every damn day he woke up and tried to ignore the justice demanded by her lingering ghost.

"Run it by me again?" This lead she'd stumbled upon so recently. Better to focus on that potential than his own fruitless thoughts and apparent lost cause. "What exactly did they say when you showed them Mari's picture?"