my hands out I wanna throw my cards now making your name our hometown but all my trains are here please don't be worried no doubt I'll find you in our old crowd so many things to say if you stay so stay y o u n g
sicily giggled. “i gotta wash my hair, but i’m more than certain the glitter will still be there,” she said. while avignon was away, she tossed the randomly placed items into a box and moved it out of the way and immediately got to work as soon as the other was back. “well, it was an accident. i came right around holiday season. i think it was this party that was being planned, actually. someone was worried about how they couldn’t get anything straight and they were hitting their deadline, so i gave them the idea to make it elf on the shelf and grinch themed, since they’re both kind of unkempt. so they had all sorts of crooked decorations, but the grinch is messy and uneven, and elf on the shelf makes messes, so it saved them.”
“oh, i think we can both expect to be fishing glitter out of our hair for the next year or so. but maybe we’ll just make it the next fashion trend,” jules giggled. she knelt on the ground, carefully spraying and then glittering inch by individual inch. “sounds like a happy accident, then. i bet they were certainly relieved to have found you. and it seems like you certainly haven’t lost your creativity since then. honestly, i don’t think i could handle the stress of a job like this. always having to solve problems. so, what do we think?” she asked, holding up the section that she had glittered. “properly christmas-y?”
“oh, wow… that’s actually pretty funny when you’re not involved. if that was me, i’d fuckin’… i don’t know, start a riot or something over that. imagine being in that situation, that’s so messy.” she laughed, shrugging. “i figured you wouldn’t really judge me, working here is… something, for sure.” tibby smiled, glad that talking to this girl didn’t make her want to make up some reason to escape the conversation. “i could make you one, if you’d like.”
“it sounds like something out of a movie, doesn’t it?” avignon laughed and shook her head. “god, i don’t know what i’d do. charge his hotel for a whole day’s worth of spa and bar, for starters. he was such a tool, he would deserve it.” she nodded and slid easily into the stool opposite the other woman. “it’s a trip. but hey, beats working at a theme park. i bet those people have some stories to tell.” she considered it and grinned. “i will if you will. we can toast the end of a very long day.”
“definitely not.” he confirms with a smile, looking away from the drinks to focus on her. “it’s kind of like a cider, a bit different but i think it’s the closest to that.” surrey considered, before he laughed at her comment and nodded. “i think you really would, like they even look like they smell sweet.” he nods softly, and accepts the drink with another smile. “thank you for this.” he laughed again, “maybe i should hide then, i don’t want to get forced into some of those.”
“well, that actually sounds pretty good. i might just swipe one later on tonight and give it a try. not,” she added, green eyes twinkling, “that you heard that from me, a rule-abiding model employee.” of course, the reality was that jules was a rule-abiding model employee- but something about the atmosphere of the night made her feel a bit more free to joke and have fun. “i think at least nine out of ten dentists would recommend staying away from that one,” she grinned and nodded in the direction of a drink that had a full sugar-and-sprinkles rim. “don’t mention it. if you think about it, i’m actually helping the hotel. giving you this is freeing up more of the sugar drinks for the socialites to post onto instagram.” she laughed and looked around. “well if you don’t mind a bit of chill, there’s a patio just outside that might do the trick. or i could sneak you into the back if you wouldn’t be too scandalized to see the part of the hotel that isn’t decorated. i’m avignon, by the way.”
“i purposely overspent on glitter in case we needed a fall back plan,” she said with a nod. “oh, fantastic. okay, so we need to lay down a carpenter’s sheet and start spraying the flocking on the garland — but only in small sections, cause we need to spray it and sprinkle the glitter on while it’s wet so it’ll dry to it and we won’t have to use glue, cause that’s an extra step i don’t wanna have to worry about unless this first method doesn’t work.”
“well that just works out perfectly. and hey, i’ll barely need to style my hair for this, since i’m sure there will still be enough glitter left in it that i’ll still look festive,” avignon teased. once sicily had explained what they needed to do, avignon sped off to get the needed supplies. after two years, it was easy to find things quickly and so she was back within minutes. “alright, let’s do this! she took one of the garland strands and the flocking spray, leaving room on the tarp for sicily to do the same. “so how’d you end up in event planning?”
“always a long day.” she explained, continuing to clean up. “you know, i’m starting to sound like i complain a lot, but it kind of rubs off on you. people come here to drink and complain about their shitty days or their relationships or what have you, so… i think that energy’s pretty contagious, don’t you? sorry, that was a longer answer than you probably wanted. short answer, yes.”
“you have a point,” jules nodded with a laugh. “and don’t worry, i get it. after a shift at the front desk, sometimes it’s tempting to yell back at people. today, some guy broke up with his girlfriend and she needed to be moved into another room so that his new hookup could stay with him. which is just.... a crazy thing to do while on vacation. but rich people are like that sometimes. which is a super long way to say that i’m not judging you if you need a drink.”
“i’m a people person, but sometimes… i can’t stand ‘em. he’s such a sweet guy, he really does go above and beyond sometimes — but what’s so hard about calling me and saying ‘i can’t find that color’, i could have told him where else to go and saved so much time and trouble,” she said. “gosh, i hope this works. i could use the help if you’re not busy and don’t have any prior engagements, though.”
“well, luckily we’ve got enough time and more than enough glitter to make up for his mistake,” jules laughed as she rolled up the sleeves to her uniform. “oh yeah, i’m happy to help! not very often that i get to do crafts on the clock. plus, i don’t want you to be too swamped to actually get to enjoy the event that you worked so hard on. where do we start?”
mykonos was closing down the bar, making sure the register was closed and the bottles were finished or put away, when she heard the sound of a glass breaking. she rolled her eyes, sighing as she grabbed the broom from behind the bar and headed over to where the mess was. she had mostly finished cleaning up the mess when she heard footsteps, standing up and brushing her hair out of her face to address whoever had approached. “bar’s closed, babe.” she told them, shaking her head. “and if i pour one more drink, i might lose my mind.”
towels in hand, avignon was on her way to restock the supply closet for the night staff when she heard the shattering of glass. she pirouetted on the spot and headed in the direction of the bar to make sure that nobody was hurt. it was empty- makes sense, as last call would have already gone by. more than likely, a cup had just fallen off the bartop. but still, avignon was relieved to hear the nonchalant tone of the bartender. “don’t worry,” she laughed. “i’m not expecting a drink. although it sounds like you could use one. long day?”
“we already have so much silver going on though, i don’t want it to overpower everything else,” she said, sighing. “i mean, i really don’t understand what’s so hard about just following simple instructions. i even sent them a picture of the color we needed. it was literally the easiest job to do. i don’t mean to call anybody dumb, but how simple minded does a person have to be to have the answer right in their face and not be able to get it? bless his heart he’s a special kinda stupid sometimes,” she said, that southern drawl slipping out as she rambled. “i thought about maybe sprinkling some iridescent glitter over the flocking while it was still wet, you think that would make it a little more life like if we can’t get the right color?”
“i know how you feel. sometimes, it’s like people are intentionally trying to make things extra-difficult. i know they’re doing their best, but it sure doesn’t make anything easier to work with.” she shook her head, kneeling to look over the navy garland. “i think that might do it! between the flocking and the glitter, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell what color it is if you tried. i can help, if you want. i’m sure you’ve got one hundred things on your to-do list, a second pair of hands might speed things up!”
surrey looks over at her following along with what she points to, he’s definitely making a face at her explanation. “all of them sound awful,” he tells her honestly, “though ho-ho-hot toddy is probably the least awful.” he thinks about it as if he doesn’t know what he wants, “scotch? very strong scotch because i don’t want anything that comes off of pinterest.”
the face that he makes at the holiday drinks is enough to make avignon laugh. “definitely not everybody’s cup of tea,” she agreed. “the hot toddy is probably my favorite in here,” looked down the garish line of the drinks table, “mostly because it’s the first one i’ve seen that wouldn’t give you a cavity and a hangover on sight.” she grins and nods, disappearing briefly behind the bar to find him something. moments later, she returns with scotch in hand. “this should do quite nicely! nothing overtly cutesy about it. i should warn you though, if anyone catches you drinking this non-theme-approved drink, it’ll be right back to the candy cane cocktails for you.”
“this is not… a christmas blue,” she muttered, dropping the garland back into a box. “that’s a navy blue. christmas blues are pastel. they’re cute. they’re pretty. they’re the color of christmas. i even sent you a picture so we wouldn’t have any problems, but here we are — having a problem!” she snapped before letting out a breath, pushing her hair out of her face. “okay, it’ll be fine. i’ll… find a way to fix this. you go find the right color — and look at the picture i sent you — and i’ll get this fixed up in case we can’t get the other one. make it snappy, please. and be careful out there, drivers are the worst during the holidays,” she said while the other person left. sicily sighed and stared at the garland for a few seconds before looking at the other that was in the room. “you think if i just spray a little snow on it, it would distract from the fact that it’s not the right color?” she asked.
the lead up to the christmas party had been hectic enough for everyone, but avignon knew that nobody had had a harder time than the event staff. she grimaced in sympathy as sicily tried to rectify what was almost certainly only the latest in a string of last-minute emergencies. cocking her head to the side, avignon considered the blue garland thoughtfully. “i’m not sure... i definitely think that it would help. you could maybe add some of the lights that we’ve got sitting in the back? or some silver garland wrapped up with it could help. sorry, i don’t exactly have a designer’s eye,” she chuckled ruefully.
“do you know what’s in that?” he asks looking down at the plate of holiday inspired beverages, surrey is trying his absolute best not to make a face of distaste. but as he looks at the unnatural colours he can’t find it appealing, “they don’t look good,” he decides, nose scrunched slightly.
avignon surveys the tray of themed drinks that sit on the table in front of them. green eyes twinkle as her lips turn up at the corners. “i believe that,” she pointed at the vivid pink concoction, “ is called a ‘mistletoe martini’ and that one is a ho-ho-hot toddy,” she grinned. “i can get you something else, if you’d like. i’m sure there’s something in the back that didn’t come off a pinterest page.”
hi hi! my name’s hannah ( she / her, 23, est ) and this little marshmallow is juliette dewhitt, though most here would know her as avignon! she’s a front desk receptionist at the hotel. i’ve got info on her below the cut! like this or message me if you want to plot because it’s my fave thing ever! i’m also in the discord so we can talk there too. can’t wait to get started!!!
tw: cheating, verbal abuse, alcoholism
INFO.
❛ ｡ ❄️ ﾟ danielle campbell. female. she/her / did i hear you say flowers pressed between the pages of a well-loved book, sunlight peeking through clouds, a half-empty bottle of lavendar perfume, & a smile no less genuine just because it’s exhausted ? then you must be talking about avignon, i’d recognize them anywhere. i’ve heard that the twenty-three year old front desk receptionist is a cancer and honestly, i see it. they’re known for being stubborn & overbearing, but their kindhearted & selfless tendencies make up for it. they’ve been working at du lac for two years and i think that their real name is juliette ‘jules’ dewhitt, but don’t spill. ( hannah. 23. she/her. est )
HISTORY.
so juliette was born in paris to arthur dewhitt and and celeste boucher. they were a bit of a cliche, him being an up-and-coming author and her being the darling of french theater.
when they first got together, arthur told anyone that would listen that he fell in love with celeste while watching her on stage, before ever having said a word to her.
the issue with their grand love affair, though, was that it was exactly that- an affair. celeste was already married to another man. he was a prominent director and had oh so coincidentally been the one to cast her in her first breakthrough role. and though celeste wasn’t in love with him anymore, he was still utterly devoted to her.
with the baby on the way, arthur started putting pressure on celeste to leave her husband and be with him openly. but as much as celeste did love arthur, she loved her career more and she feared what the revelation of the affair would do to her chances to perform.
she pushed him away, telling him that she loved her husband (she didn’t) and that she wanted to give her baby the best chance at happiness with a nuclear family (that hadn’t even come into her head until she said it out loud).
arthur was heartbroken, but he respected her wishes.
years later, he ended up writing a novel that drew heavily from his own experiences with celeste. it was critically acclaimed- beloved by the critics, made into a movie, generally agreed that it would be one of the novels that defined the decade.
unfortunately for celeste, there were enough details that mirrored their own lives that her husband finally caught wise. he confronted her and though she lied and denied as fervently as she could, he ended up leaving her and the daughter that he now knew wasn’t his.
without the income of her husband, and now getting too old to land the roles that once sustained her career, celeste ended up moving herself and juliette to a small town in france.
she hated it there, having always been so used to the hustle and bustle of paris.
juliette would have been only 13 or 14 when this happened and to say that it was devastating would have been an understatement- within the span of a few weeks, she found out that her mother had cheated, that the man she had always considered her father wasn’t and that he no longer wanted anything to do with her, and then got moved away from everything that she knew.
she ended up getting a job as a bagger at the local grocery, riding her bike to and from work.
her mother talked about getting one herself but never seemed all that pressed to actually start looking. instead, she focused on reliving her golden days and began drinking heavily.
slowly, she devolved into a hateful and cold shell of her former self.she resented her daughter, thinking that it was because of her that the perfect life had unraveled around celeste.
jules learned to grow up very quickly after that. she cooked dinners, made sure that the bills were actually mailed out, always put a blanket on her mother when she passed out on the couch, and turned a cheek at the words spoken while still awake.
despite everything, jules is actually an incredibly positive and kind person. she realized very young that no amount of bitterness at her own plight would change things and that she wanted instead to focus on putting joy and kindness back into the world.
she focused on creating healthy friendships and relationships, on her schoolwork, on anything that wasn’t her home life.
she probably wouldn’t have told anyone about what she was dealing with at home, as she didn’t want people to worry about her.
when it came time for university, jules decided to study hospitality. she was an incredibly detail-oriented person, and had learned over the years how to manage her own household. plus, it was a career that she thought her good nature would be suited to.
it was hard to leave home, not knowing what state her mother would be in without her, but jules reasoned that she couldn’t hold back from having her own life forever.
at school, jules really started to thrive. left to only care for herself, she started exploring every hobby that she could think of and learning everything about herself that she could.
she even reached out to her birth father, who was thrilled to finally get to acknowledge his daughter. they’ve begun a tenuous relationship that they’re both very nervous but hopeful of.
it was actually a suggestion of his that, as he hadn’t had the chance to support her while growing up, that he could get her a connection at the hotel du lac, where he regularly stayed when he wanted to write.
she’s even started going by his last name! it’s really exciting for her. at first it was just because it would help with the job interview but it’s started to be something she does in her own head too.
she works at the front desk, and actually really likes it. basically her whole job is solving problems for people and staying friendly, both of which are right up her alley. also, she always loved visiting avignon while growing up and to have it as her codename is actually very charming to her
HEADCANONS.
she’s super afraid of heights. one time went to the top of the eiffel tower and nearly puked. hasn’t been up since
she loves oversized sweaters, soft blankets, fuzzy knee-high socks, basically anything cozy. would probably sit in front of a fireplace for a year if she had the time
laughs at her own jokes. sometimes literally can’t get through telling her own jokes because she’s laughing too hard
she has a really impressive book collection. growing up, she’s always loved the escapism of reading and ever since she got in touch with her father, he’s been sending her his own favorites. her favorite ones are the ones that he’s written his thoughts in the margins, a habit which she’s since picked up
she’s a total pushover. would do anything for anybody. honestly, to the point where it’s a character fault. it’s led to her being taken advantage of more than once in her life
hasn’t ever had a pet before but she would totally love to get a cat one day
doesn’t handle interpersonal conflict super well. like, she could get yelled at by a guest all day long without breaking a sweat but if someone that she cares about gets visibly upset with her she kind of freaks out and overextends herself trying to make things right again
loves knitting and baking when she’s stressed out. it’s nice for her to have something to do with her hands while her mind is racing and then at the end of it all, you’ve got a nice little treat for yourself!
has recently started keeping a little journal that she writes in. it’s partially to try and collect her own thoughts and get to know herself better and partially because she wants to have something shared between herself and her dad
WANTED PLOTS.
friends!!!!!!! avignon has never really had the chance to have close friends growing up because she never had the money/time, and she was afraid to get too close to people and have them realize the situation with her mom
her dad. this one will actually be a wanted connection, but i would love to have arthur (obviously that name isn’t set in stone lol) around and start to navigate their relationship actually being together for the first time
a love interest- avignon is very guarded about romance because she’s got deep abandonment stuff and also is afraid that she’s not good enough for it but like i can totally imagine her having these huge feelings for someone, either requited or unrequited that she doesn’t know how to handle and getting very blushy about it
a bad influence- she’s never really had the chance to let loose and have fun before, so i’d def like to see that happening. plus, she would probs start trying to like take care of them in return and make sure they drink water and the whole nine it would be very charming
irritant- tbh, she isn’t most peoples’ cup of tea. she’s very almost aggressive about her kindness and i can imagine that there are people that would absolutely hate that and they would just butt heads over it
I love the fact that I can make people happy, in any form. Even if it’s just an hour of their lives, if I can make them feel lucky or make them feel good, or bring a smile to a sour face, that to me is worthwhile.
