Day two of Spring Break, and Olive had no idea what to do with herself. Her classes were always held after five p.m., a carefully balanced schedule fallen to pieces for the sake of a vacation. Free time was in short supply in the blonde’s world often spent at home studying or having a movie night with Briar to feel like she was doing something productive, but today was a little different. For once Olive let herself wander into her favorite bookstore, fingers itching to get her hands on the new pages of a romance novel, one that she could take to bed and fall asleep reading. However, her excitement caused her to develop tunnel-vision, not looking where she was going and suddenly running into a figure that was much taller than her. “Oh sh—” she muttered, her mouth going dry as she peered up at Dorian. “I am so sorry.”
@ghcstofyou
it was no secret that dorian didn’t leave the house much. he worked mostly from home, had few friends, and maybe had a touch of agoraphobia. in addition to any and all specialty food shops in the area, bookstores were his favourite outings. he would visit every week on his way home from the office, as a reward for surviving yet another face-to-face meeting with his publisher. he took his time, browsing the shelves and stacking his arms with best-sellers and hidden gems alike. he had just turned the corner into the romance section when a small, blurry force collided into his chest. out of instinct, he reached out a hand to steady her. “no, no, i wasn’t paying attention when i came around the corner. are you alright?” he asked, his hand lingering a second too long on her arm before he dropped it back to his side. it was almost ironic that he would quite literally run into her in the romance section of his favourite bookstore. it was the exact type of sappy-cute moment he would write, and he knew now more than ever that she was his real love story.
briar knew exactly how random it was for her to pose this question to dorian, but the blonde wasn’t very shy when it came to something that would benefit her best friend. “what if someone was asking you out and planning the night? might be a bit rude if they demand you cook.” though she definitely filed the information away, him being a good cook benefitted her too, after all. “would you pick out a book for each other or just walk through the shelves and enjoy looking at everything?”
dorian was not the brightest when it came to anything romantic, but even he could see through her act. she wasn’t being subtle, but he wasn’t offended. in fact, he found it encouraging. if she was here on olive’s behalf--a fact he was sure olive didn’t know--that meant briar must have reason to believe olive would want to go on a date with him. “if this is about olive, you don’t have to worry. i plan on asking her out soon.” he said quietly, rubbing his hands together without realizing it. he had been planning on asking her out for the last two years, but after his ex, he was terrified to get involved again. “but pick out a book for each other, of course.”
Jack’s features immediately changed, his eyebrows pulling together when the doors opened and he heard a voice. “There’s no way I’m answering that,” he muttered, if only because he didn’t know how to. It wasn’t like Jack’s music taste was groundbreaking or even risky, but he listened to enough that he wasn’t ready to choose just one artist for the task. “Because one day Stevie Nicks could be the perfect representation I need, and the next it could be Queensryche. This is an impossible decision.”
duke blinked in surprise at the choices jack offered forth and laughed, gaining a new respect for the man. “good taste, though, man. respect.” he teased with a warm grin. “follow up question then; twelve artists you’d want on your soundtrack.” duke’s life was a complicated one, a war of two worlds, but his music taste was just as complex. like jack, he had a wildly varying taste in tunes.
“You know what I think might be cool?” Harlow’s voice was only audible because they had wandered into the quieter section of the book store with Dorian. “What if we tried to set up like. A book exchange or something at the apartments? And you know how old libraries have cards in the books where people mark who checked it out? We could have that but for people who red the books. And maybe then you could have someone to talk to about it.” They paused for a moment, eyes flitting over to the other. “Or maybe that’s really stupid. I don’t know.” @ghcstofyou
dorian listened intently to his friend as he browsed the store. he already had a large pile in one arm, but he’d be through them in no time. “like a silent book club? that would be...really cool, actually.” he had been looking to make more friends in the building, and in general, but books was pretty much the only thing he could really talk about in his life. “where would we put it? the roof?”
“too easy.” devin stepped off the elevator with a mischievous smile on her face. “whoever made the batman theme song. it’s not too wordy and gets stuck in your head even if you haven’t watched the show. beat that.”
he opened his mouth to laugh, but paused. yano, she had a point. he had never considered anything other than the normal music he could find on spotify, but she had just opened up a whole new world of possibilities. the perfect song popped into his head and he felt his mouth stretch into an almost evil grin. “the song that never ends.”
shiloh had been a bit surprised, not to find dorian on the roof, but at the other’s question. he smirked a bit, the thought of finding someone he was tied to a concept he had no intentions of finding true. “i do, do you believe in it?” he countered, curious and already assuming the answer. shiloh didn’t often think of love, more commonly choosing to push any potential of it off to the side.
while he wasn’t sure how much of the legend he believed in, but the basic premise of soulmates was a question he’d been pondering for the last two weeks. “i don’t know,” he started before pausing to take a long drag of his cigarette. when he spoke again, smoke filtered out from his lips around the words. “i guess...in a way, i do. i mean, an actual red thread seems unnecessarily difficult, but i think i believe in soulmates. i think i’ve even met mine.” normally he wouldn’t be so cavalier with the matters of his heart, but shiloh had quickly become one of dorian’s closest friends in the city.
The roof was almost like a sanctuary for Starling, and the addition of people was just a bonus, in her opinion. “Hmm.” She tapped her fingers on her chin before shaking her head a little bit. “No; I can’t say I’ve ever heard of it. Will you tell me what it is?”
dorian had always liked starling, even if they hadn’t interacted much. they’d crossed paths on the roof and in the halls and she was always friendly. “its an old japanese legend that claims that the gods connect you to your soulmate by an invisible red string tied to your pinkies.” he mused, glancing down at his own hand. of course, there was no thread around his finger, but that did nothing to ease the feeling that he had already found his soulmate.
Duke was no stranger to Harlow, and while the other was very strange, there was a comforting aura around them - Harlow assumed it had something to do with the fact that neither of them cared much for gender. “Hi, Duke,” Harlow greeted the other first, before letting out a soft hum. “God. I never even though my life was dramatic enough to qualify for a theme song.” Pausing again for a moment, they finally made up their mind. “The Maine. They made tragedy sound really beautiful while expressing that even if you’re still sad, that’s okay.”
“the maine? incredible taste, truly.” he let out a whoop of excitement, loving the other’s choice. he had loved listening to the maine and they were still a regular staple in his playlists. “if you’re after my heart, it’s working.” they were teasing, of course, as their heart was thoroughly owned by emira. however, they were still very fond of harlow, and felt a quiet kinship in the comforting knowledge that harlow understood the fight duke had to go through to live their truth.
( rihanna fenty, goddess , she/her ) was that LYSJENA ADARA taking the stairs ? the 33 year old BURLESQUE DANCER has lived in APT 2E for FOUR YEARS. i heard they’re pretty FLAMBOYANT, but some say they’ve been CONFIDENT. they’re pretty well known for PAYING FOR EVERYTHING IN CASH, LIPSTICK ON YOUR COLLAR
lysjena was sixteen when she moved from barbados to new york city, hoping to make it on broadway, leaving her mum and brother in bridgetown. it took her a year and a half to land a role worth writing home about, and another three years to star in a show of her own. she was going to play the love interest of a broadway legend almost twice her age. they had chemistry on stage, so it was no surprise that things were quick to heat up off stage as well. even though he was married.
when they were inevitably caught, her co-star threw her under the bus, accusing her of being an insane stalker trying to break up his marriage. he had her fired from the show, and word quickly spread. if anyone would dare cast her, they buried her in the kick line. she watched the man who ruined her career only get more and more famous. so, she leaked a deep dark secret to the press, and suddenly the whole world knew things he had only ever told her, causing his entire life to fall apart. she still has no regrets.
she was able to get a job as a dancer at a burlesque lounge under miss rose, who soon became her mentor. miss rose picked up the broken pieces of lysjena’s heart, gave her the stage name of lucy, and gave her a reason to dance again. lysjena continues to work at the lounge as a performer, although since she took over after miss rose’s retirement, she mostly spends her time running the club.
in an attempt to protect herself from getting hurt again, lysjena has adopted her stage persona, lucy, as part of her. she is confident and cocky and bright and always fills any room she’s in. she has become a fun aunt figure, and is a big supporter of everyone in the building.
( charles melton , cismale , he/him ) was that LAZARUS ISAIAH taking the stairs ? the 28 year old INVENTOR/VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER has lived in APT 2B for THREE YEARS. i heard they’re pretty STUBBORN, but some say they’ve been CREATIVE. they’re pretty well known for LOUD MUSIC AT ALL HOURS, THE SMELL OF SWEAT AND SMOKE.
tw: death, hospitalization, death of a child, airplane crash, severe injury, loss of limb, alcoholism, honestly this is very sad so just be forewarned
• 𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆(𝐒). mary watson (deceased), georgette watson (deceased), celidonius isaiah
• 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐍. georgette isaiah (deceased), mary isaiah (deceased)
• 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐒. n/a
biography.
born on a horse farm in the middle of nowhere, australia, lazarus and his twin were raised by his grandparents, as his father was overseas. his mother was prone to schizophrenic episodes, so his father’s parents stepped up and took their son’s new bride and her twin daughters in with a warm welcome. when the girls were five, a new set of twins were born. their mother was in the midst of a schizophrenic episode when she went into labour, telling the nurses that god had instructed her what to name the new twin boys, even if that name held no connection to the family. it made childhood interesting.
{tw: death, hospitalization} when laz was nine, his sister mary tragically drowned in a nearby lake after sneaking out with her sister. two years later, his father took his own life in the barn. the loss of both her daughter and her husband caused his mother to suffer from a mental break, requiring her to be hospitalized permanently at a facility in sydney. {end tw}
{tw: death} by the time he was graduating high school, both of his grandparents had passed, and georgette had put off her college dreams to take care of the boys. cel had plans to go to america and become a doctor, and georgette wanted to go to brisbane and be an accountant. having excelled in school, laz had his choice of schools, but instead enlisted in the royal australian air force. while there, he met the love of his life, and they were quickly married. within the year, she was pregnant with twins. and then georgette passed away unexpectedly of cancer. laz’s wife went into labour at her funeral, and they named the twins after his sisters. {end tw}
{tw: death, death of a child, airplane crash, severe injury, loss of limb, alcoholism} mary, the smallest of his daughters, didn’t make it to see her half birthday, and the strain of her death caused fractures in his marriage. he knew it was too soon for him to return to work, but his leave was almost up and he thought the distance might be good for their relationship. a year and a half into his deployment, lazarus was involved in a serious crash, leaving him in the hospital for months and losing his right leg below the knee. he took to drinking, and when gigi died suddenly when she was only four, drinking became the only thing he could do. he drank and he drank and he drank, until his wife packed up her things and left. {end tw}
it wasn’t until his brother stepped in and dragged laz to america with him that he even tried to do something with his life. his brother forced him to go to meeting for injured vets and he was eventually recruited to be a volunteer firefighter with a few others from the meetings. he soon found a new purpose to his life, so he quit drinking and got his own apartment in golden. he’s been sober for three years now and is always working on his newest invention. he’s not the friendliest person in the building but he keeps to himself and tries not to cause trouble.
“I am just like my mother. I buy books and tell myself that I am buying wisdom and at the end of my life, I own a house full of books. When I was little, I thought that the water came out of the showerhead because it was crying. This is because I heard my mother crying and thought it was the showerhead.”
— Ken Chen, “Essay on Crying at Night,” from Juvenilia (via bostonpoetryslam)
he knew smoking was a disgusting habit, one he had never really wanted to pick up anyway, but it was just too damn hard to quit. so, here he was, freezing his ass off on the roof, blowing smoke rings and watching them disappear into the freezing wind. “i’ve been thinking about the red thread of fate lately. do you know it?” in truth, the thought of soulmates had been on his mind a lot over the past two years, but he would never admit as such aloud.
andulkaphoto
annaxmalina
prguitarman
stormborns
gummygunk
baratheonpilled
ellievsbear
snowghoul