;;free like the birds

darcy rhodes. 28. spinning instructor/seminole theater employee. ❝ you've got to be free like these birds and run like these rivers, dance like the fireflies dancing endlessly together ❞

[darcyontherhodes]

zacharygallaghers:

Zachary couldn’t say that he was having the best of days and he couldn’t really remember when he got a proper night of rest. He had thought working wouldn’t require so much from him after the first year, maybe after a year and half at the latest. But it appeared that for what he wanted to do, it would take a lot more than a year. Overtime was a regular occurrence, even when the firm name held his own surname. “Honestly, I already have a headache and I can’t seem to find a decent cup of coffee today. So either speak slower or just don’t speak at all.” He spoke to the individual beside him, who had maybe been speaking to him or to someone else. He really hadn’t been paying too much attention because all he kept hearing was the white noise of constant speech.

“I don’t think not speaking would help with the headache, unless--” Darcy tilted her head and looked him up and down. He didn’t seem like he had a rough night, but people usually couldn’t tell when she had a long night with drinking either, so that really wasn’t something to go on. “Are you hungover? Because then it might help, but most likely a painkiller would still be the best solution you could go with. Or just, you know, not go to a crowded place where people talk.”

[darcyontherhodes]

rhyswyles:

“I swear I was in my county’s all-boy choir as a kid,” Rhys insists. “But when I hit puberty, I kinda lost it. Didn’t really love singing, anyway. I was cool with it. My mom’s the real voice in the family. Think she wanted me to be like her, when, in reality, I’m way more like my uncle.”

He stops the recording, placing a hand on his hip and cocking it out — his “sassy” pose. “So, like, we have to take turns filming each other in groups so that we can, like, practice. Sometimes we film the theatre class, but problem is they’re not always acting; sometimes they’re in lectures and doing research and whatnot. None of us are all that comfortable being filmed because that’s not our major; we’re not actors. And I know they complain about me being difficult to film in a separate group message. Especially J.T. He’s always trying to get me to perform these elaborate monologues that he writes — that are completely unecessary, by the way; not required at all — and when my performance isn’t up to snuff, he gets all snotty about it.” Rhys huffs and rolls his eyes. “I wish we could switch partners, but we chose on day one, and how was I supposed to know this guy thought he was Ben Affleck, or something?” he sighs, referring to the actor/director/screenplay writer triple threat.

“At least you never had a passion for it,” Darcy said with a smile. It would have been worse, she knew it. Loving something and losing it because of puberty would be such a huge punch in the face of the universe and nature, she wasn’t sure how anyone could work through it. “Is your uncle in film making too?”

Darcy couldn’t help but laugh at the pose the boy quickly jumps into, but when he starts talking, it becomes clear pretty quickly that most of his classmates are just dicks who complain about something they all probably do, and that just sounds ridiculous to Darcy, and makes her want to do something about it, even though she didn’t really know the guy in front of him. “Okay, for one, complaining about you in a separate group message is just a dick move, especially if you know about it. Saying it into your face would be at least a straight way to go about it. Two, why couldn’t you change partners? The prof is being a dick about it? And three, is he really actually that good or does he only think himself that good?”

[darcyontherhodes]

aaliyahwinthrop:

“I’m all for the go big or go home as you might very well know Darcy. So the more we can do the better for me. I won’t be too greedy or overzealous though and accept your practical advice to see what is open and do that.” She conceded with a big smile, more excited now that she actually knew what she was doing for the day. Otherwise maybe she would have just spent too much time on the beach with no real direction and wasn’t the whole point to fill her days with too many experiences? Which was why it was good that she knew Darcy, a woman that was very much like her in many ways. Her dramatic ways would never leave her and she gave her a completely touched expression. “You are too kind. How does someone like you exist?” Realizing that keeping their hands linked would not allow either to eat, she took her arm out from the other’s and opened her own box. “Give and take is the first principle of good business, Ms. Rhodes.” She joked in the same formal tone, offering the muffins for her while taking a cinnamon bun for herself.

“I would be for let’s do it all too, no worries,” she winked at the other girl. Darcy was living for anything new and exciting, and even though she dragged her sister along sometimes, it was nice to have somebody who was just as enthusiastic, just as excited about everything and anything new and interesting and maybe a big dangerous too. This was probably not going to be the last one, she doubted that the alligator park would risk putting their customers in danger, but the two of them have been on a couple of adventures already that weren’t the safest for sure. She let her unlink their hands and grinned at Aaliyah as she reached for one of the muffins. “Oh gosh, this really is good,” she let out a content sigh when she bit into the pasty. 

[darcyontherhodes]

masonmillcr:

      “Are you trying to get me up there to sing drunkenly for your amusement?” Mason questioned, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth at the thought of him going up there to belch out a few notes to a song that is available. “Mm maybe if I was a bit more hammered I would do just that but I’m not and I’d rather stay here at the bar and ignoring his poor attempt of sounding like Steven Tyler.” 

“Yes, that is exactly what I am trying to do,” Darcy nodded with a grin on her face as she took a couple of sips of her beer. “We can always change your alcohol level, if that is all you need to get up there and sing, you know,” she suggested. “A couple of shots right after one another, and I am sure you would just love to jump onto the stage and show the bar what you know. Or are you trying to avoid it because you’re worse than Mr. Self-Appointed X-Factor Winner over there?”

[darcyontherhodes]

georgeknoxrp:

George nodded at the girl’s desire to hope for the best, knowing exactly how she felt; no matter how many dates turned bad, he still put himself out there in hopes one turned out well. Up to this point, that hadn’t been the case. “Dates made off of websites are also very good trial and error techniques. There’s absolutely no commitment and people who are putting in that extra effort to find a good relationship will let you know where you went wrong.” The fact that there was a lot of dirt he hadn’t even bothered to wiggle his toes into yet concerned him, but who knew what would happen.

“I’d say that I listen to quite a few people rant each day, but I don’t really discourage it. They’re normally drunk and sad, but I like understanding people in any state and that also helps me determine whether to keep serving them or to call a cab.” George explained, shrugging a little bit as he glanced around the bar. “That’s also a very good way to determine who’s worth dating. A lot of people like to flirt with bartenders, especially when they recognize them while not working, so knowing backstories helps avoid a lot of drama.”

Darcy tilted her head, curiously listening to the bartender make a really good point that she never considered before. When she looked at online dating, she considered it another chance to meet somebody who could potentially be an extremely important part of her life for a long period of time, maybe even forever. A smaller chance than normal, she knew a lot of people on these places only wanted one thing (which was quite fun from time to time, she had to admit, she had her fair share of one night stands from these apps and websites), but still a chance. But to think of it as learning curves – she has never thought of them as such. “That is such an interesting way of looking at it, never really thought of it like that,” she said. “Definitely a lot more positive than maybes and mights that have less of a chance to work out compared to dates where you already met the person face to face.”

“At least it’s not an annoyance. Imagine having to listen to people rant to you while you hate people in general. Definitely would be one of the worst jobs you could possibly choose,” Darcy said with a small chuckle, her voice light. “But yeah, I can imagine getting free insights to people must be nice, especially if they could potentially be future anyones to you. Alcohol tends to get… well, maybe if not the worst side, but definitely the most honest side of people, so you can tell they are who they say they are when they’ve got a couple of drinks in them already.”

[darcyontherhodes]

darcy rhodes ✮ aesthetic 

[brittany-snow]

[darcyontherhodes]

rhyswyles:

“You’re welcome, ma'am,” he says with a small tilt of his head. “Well, I was born in the late nineties, so in the early two-thousands I was still boomin’ Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, probably. Although I’d like to think that another version of me in another timeline who was an angsty teen in those years was bumpin’ some Third Eye Blind. I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend,” he sings in his best Stephan Jenkins voice. “I would understaaaaeeeyyyaaaaeeyyyaaaand!”

Rhys films her quietly for no more than five seconds before she speaks again. She’s a talker, this one. She asks if he’s ever been in front of the camera. “Oh, God… no, no, no, no, no.” He shakes his head violently, his eyes wide. “I’m even more awkward with a lens pointed at me then I am pointing the lens at you; I can assure you. My classmates… they hate me.”

Darcy almost let out a groan - she was around 10, maybe eleven when she discovered S Club 7, and even though she knew she wasn’t old (28 was nowhere even close to old, damn it!), she kind of felt like she was. Though she didn’t get a chance to comment, because next the guy started not only trying to immitate Stephan Jenkins, he was doing that singing, and she couldn’t help letting out a laugh. She looked around the bus to see how many people were actually staring at the... well, not so good sounding singing. “Maybe that is not a good idea,” she said, unable to hold back her chuckle. “Just an advice, you know.”

Normally she wouldn’t have thought that somebody used to filming and used to the camera would feel awkward and weird in front of it, but then again, this time the guy was used to being behind the camera and not in front of it. She could understand feeling weird in front of it, she felt it too, though it was something new to her. She wasn’t used to feeling weird, feeling awkward. She was used to being confident. But then again, no camera was ever pointed at her in hopes of capturing her for... well, whatever the guy was going to use it for later on.

“How bad are you exactly if your classmates hate you for it?“ she asked, curious.

[darcyontherhodes]

hc + aliens

Darcy believes aliens exist completely. There are so many weird and unexplainable and complicated and misunderstood things in the world already, why would the Earth be the only planet where life is. They most likely don’t look the same, don’t talk the same, don’t have the same morals or laws or personalities or cultures or even lifespans, but she believes they are out there somewhere. The entire universe is big enough for other creatures aside from those living on this planet.

[darcyontherhodes]

hc + celebrity, hc + voicemail, hc + prom, hc + star wars

hc + celebrity

Darcy’s biggest celebrity crush is Leonardo DiCaprio ever since Titanic came out, and she knows she is not alone in this. She was still a kid when the movie came out and at first, her parents didn’t even want her to watch it because of the ending, but Darcy pushed and prodded and annoyed them until they let her watch. She cried and sobbed and yelled at the tv the first time she saw it and her parents thought it wasn’t a good idea, but the next week she asked them if they could watch it again. The movie quickly became her one of her all-time favorites, and Leonardo DiCaprio immediately became her biggest celebrity crush and that hasn’t changed ever since. She had other phases, there was always somebody new and fresh, but somehow she always came back to Leo. It was one of the very few things that stuck with her over the years.

hc + voicemail

Darcy always forgets to check her voicemails, even if she gets a bunch of notifications about it. She usually remembers to check it once in three-four weeks, so the people who know her know not to leave a voicemail to her about anything important, while those who don’t know her are met with the following voicemail message from Darcy: “Hey. I am most likely going to forget checking this, but if you want, you can leave a message after the tone. Bye.”

hc + prom

Darcy went to her prom with her girlfriend at the time, which turned out to be more eventful than either of them really wanted it to. They got called out by a couple of guys for being each other’s dates (which Darcy really didn’t understand, because they have been together for three months by that time, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone that they were together, and if they are together, why wouldn’t they come together to the prom?), and Darcy ended up punching one of the guys in the face, grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and fled the scene. What she didn’t anticipate is that her girlfriend didn’t appreciate the punching, even if it was to defend her honor, and they got into a huge fight afterward. They didn’t break up right away, but they didn’t last more than a couple of weeks longer after that either.

hc + star wars

Darcy loves Star Wars. She is not a super fan, but she saw all the movies. There are two movies, however, that she can anger any of the big Star Wars fans and she knows it - “Jar Jar Binks was an amazing character!” and “Greedo shot first!” And yes, she means both of them.

[darcyontherhodes]

aaliyahwinthrop:

Already her excitement was through the roof with this idea. It was amazing and she couldn’t have anticipated it more. An experience she had never had and that was all Aaliyah was doing now. Collecting all sorts of experiences, maybe trying desperately to find one that would just bring her that burst of happiness. Or maybe like always it was just easier to keep herself completely busy. A mix of the two likely was the true motivation behind her constant adventure seeking ways. “Um, I want to do everything. I can’t pick between either of those options.” She declared, taking Darcy’s suggestion into account and nodding. “Breakfast on the go it is! Like the true nomadic souls we are,” at least that she was. She never really stuck in one place for too long after all. 

"Yeah, it’s understandable,” Darcy chuckled. She’s been to an alligator show once before, and it was such an incredible experience. She was dying to go on the tour as well, and since Aaliyah was up for it, she wouldn’t have minded watching the show as well. Like the other girl, she wanted it all too. “We can always just see what is available when we get there and decide then. Or go for it all, if we have the chance.” She nodded, “Sounds perfect, let’s go,” Darcy said and started moving towards the door. With their hands still linked together, she magiced her box containing the cinnamon rolls open (and thankfully she did it without risking any of the rolls falling out) and offered the box up to the other. “The first pick is all yours.”

[darcyontherhodes]

adelaidexarcher:

Working at the theatre was something of a necessity for her when her photography didn’t quite bring in a steady stream of cash but it had never truly felt like a job. She liked spending her time there and the shifts never truly seemed to drag, even less so when she managed to get on shift with Darcy. The two women had just clicked upon discovering a similar worldview and mentality which meant that those quiet nights went by all the faster with the blonde by her side. 

Looking up with a smile she took the soda from her coworker’s hand. “Thanks, nice to know there are some perks.” The words are light when she’s never had any issue with the job. As she takes a sip, Adelaide tilts her head slightly to the side as she considers it. “If the last few are anything to go by I think it’ll be kinda quiet.” Her lips curve up into a smirk. “Which means that you’re stuck with me once again.”

Darcy let out a long, loud, dramatic sigh as if being stuck with Adelaide for the next couple of hours would have been the biggest problem of her life at that moment. “I guess I will try to survive the night,” she rolled her eyes, maybe even more dramatically than the sigh turned out to be, but her tone was light, joking. Adelaide quickly became one of her favorite coworkers since she started working in the theater, and aside from sometimes being able to sneak a peek into the plays they were selling tickets for, she enjoyed the slow shifts where they end up talking for hours without being interrupted were definitely her favorite part of the job.

She took another sip from her drink before grinning at the other girl. “Did you take any cool photos lately? Got any good jobs?” she asked, curious. She saw some of the pictures Adelaide took in the past few months and she loved the style she worked in and the work she did, so she was always curious and interested in anything new she did.

[darcyontherhodes]

masonmillcr:

      Mason leaned against the bar table, cradling the beer he has been nursing since he walked through the doors of the bar right after work and stared up at the tv to watch the sports channel. The sound of good Old Eddy singing behind him drunk had him chuckling, “You would think they would kick him out of here by now, unless they have gone tone deaf.” He talked to the person beside him, finally looking over at them. 

A chuckle left Darcy, an amused smile curling up on her lips. “You can always try and out-sing him,” she suggested, turning towards him with a bottle of her in her hand. She took a swing from the bottle before she turned towards the old guy singing and leaned against the bar. “He isn’t actually that loud, and I am pretty sure as soon as you start singing loudly and he realizes what is happening, he will be baffled into silence.”

[darcyontherhodes]

georgeknoxrp:

George nodded his head at the ‘thank you’, offering her back a smile. It was obvious she held herself back from arguing about the free drink, a fact that earned her quite a bit of his respect. He wasn’t quite a fan of people that turned their nose at favors, even though they all tended to get returned in due time.

“A dating app?” He asked, giving her a knowing look as he leaned against the bar. “Trust me, I understand. I’ve been on a share of dates through those and they never seemed to end well. If the guy was willing to stand you up without even a heads up, I’d say that he probably would have been a disappointment if he had shown up anyway.” It was a true statement; if the guy didn’t grant her respect digitally, there’s no way he would have genuinely treated her properly in person. George had seen plenty of dating app meet-ups go south in his time as a bartender.

“I’m taking it that means there’s not a great dating pool in this town?”

Darcy took another sip from her Margarita, which tasted amazing, so she was pretty sure her choice of drink wasn’t going to change for the rest of the night and nodded. “Yeah, I am better off without him, I know. But still, the hope was there that it would turn out good and fun, you know? Always hope for the best, even if it’s some date arranged on a dating website.” She knew most dates on this website ended up being good, she had her fair share of horrible dates herself, but she always hoped for the best. That maybe this time would be the exception.

She raised her shoulders for a small shrug, scratching the back of her neck. “Wouldn’t really say it’s bad, you just gotta find the gem in the dirt. Takes time and effort. And most likely a lot of dirt to go through before you find the gem.” She tilted her head as she looked up at him. “How many similar conversations do you have on a daily basis? Just out of curiosity? Do you have to listen to a huge amount of people rant a lot to you or is that just a myth?”

[darcyontherhodes]

aaliyahwinthrop:

Aaliyah laughed with an enthusiastic nod. “Touche.” A bad habit, never giving herself enough credit. But she was not thinking of that. When the muffins came, she paid for them and linked arms with her friend. “You are always the perfect person for me.” Looking for a table where they could enjoy the fruit of their deal, she stopped when the suggestion was thrown out. “Stop, that sounds amazing! I love that!”  It was an experience she couldn’t say she’d had before so it sounded just like what a person like Aaliyah would want to do. 

A smile broke across Darcy’s features as she saw Aaliyah’s reaction to her suggestion. “It is decided then, we’re going.” Aaliyah had a similar spirit and look at life, so she figured she would be up for the fun, but still, it was nice to see the enthusiasm the other girl immediately shown, bringing Darcy’s excitement up in the process as well. “The alligator farm has over 2000 alligators, and the tours are on airboats. And they have alligator shows as well, which is like a dolphin show but obviously with an alligator, so if we get there, we can just choose what we want to see.” If it was up to her, she would have wanted to see it all. “Should we sit down and have breakfast now, or have breakfast on the road?”

[darcyontherhodes]

nadiacamlow:

Nadia actually chuckled, unable to keep it to herself even as she nodded in agreement. "I promise to keep imminent peril to myself,” she vowed, miming the crossing of her heart as she did so. She’d never made any kind of prediction like that and she never would. Even when the card for death itself appeared, she would try to find an alternative meaning. She didn’t like offering predictions that gave definitive endings anyway; that just wasn’t how the future worked.

She watched the careful shuffling without a word, patient as ever until Darcy was content. Once the cards were on the table again, she picked up the deck and laid out a simple spread of cards on the surface, setting the remainder of the deck aside. “Keep your question on your mind.” As she continued, she flipped the first card, “This card represents your primary concern; it’s a mirror of the issue on your mind.” Between them lay the Page of Wands. “This card often symbolizes good news, something good coming to your life soon or recently." 

“Thanks, that is reassuring,” Darcy nodded with a smile. She knew this could turn out really badly too, that if it is a real reading, something not positive could come out of the reading itself, but she always looked at things in a good light, hoping for the best. She believed that by doing so, she can pull in the good faith, so the reassurance was good enough for her, and from that moment on, she focused on the good things, the positive, and the questions she had.

It was a generic reading and so for a second she wasn’t even sure what she wanted to know, what question to focus on, but then a thought – a brochure – popped into her head and the questions came to her only a moment later. Pilot training? Should I sign up for it? What should I expect?

Darcy watched as the fortune teller’s hand as she worked and her heart skipped a beat in excitement as the first card was turned up – a person holding a huge stick on the card. “I always welcome good news,” she commented and wondered if the meaning of the cards could change when all three cards are already flipped up. She looked up at the girl after a moment, waiting for the next card.

[darcyontherhodes]

rosalietorelli:

                Rosalie was used to the fact kids tend to do things that wasn’t acceptable in public, hence having to be more firm on discipline. But it was also hard for her to keep a straight face on the fact some of the things Asher said or even do made her want to laugh along with her son. “I would hope so, make the whole college thing more easier if he decided to get into sports and probably get a good scholarship.” Talking about college when Asher wasn’t even ten yet had her feel a little sad with how fast he was growing lately. Offering the napkin in her hand while chuckling, “Sorry once again, good thing it wasn’t oat meal.” 

“I do imagine it would solve a lot of problems, yeah,” Darcy nodded. She knew from experience that whenever she started playing one type of sport, her parents hoped it would stick, that she would fall in love and get good enough to get some kind of scholarship for college. She didn’t, of course, but in the end, it didn’t really matter either, because she never went to college. Never wanted to, and she didn’t regret it either, thankfully. (And if she would ever come to, she could always apply then, college didn’t have to be something she did right out of high school.) She took the napkin, “Thanks,” she smiled, wiping off the couple of spots that spilled onto her clothes. “It’s ok, it really wasn’t anything. I am glad it wasn’t oatmeal too, though. Or that it didn’t land in my food that would have been more unfortunate for sure. The coffee I didn’t really plan on drinking anyway.”

"Do you want to join me, by the way?" she asked. "Maybe skip another basketball situation with it as well?"