it’s all smiles on the newsroom floor as richard valmont’s daughter steps into it. there’s no sense of heaviness in the air—not like if it was the big boss himself. most of the tenured members have known her since she was an acolyte, an intern still wet behind the ears, and sees her less like their boss than a goddaughter wearing an ill-fitting coronet. one day she’ll grow into it and that familiar heaviness will set in. eventually, she makes her way to them, the smile on her face at once open and reserved. “ ah, i’ve been meaning to catch up with you. do you have a second? walk with me. ”
when phillipa walked in, the room lit up. immediately reaching for her badge lanyard, paloma fell into step beside her boss. " of course. " easy & unhurried. a corridor opened ahead, their steps finding a rhythm on tiled floors. “ am i in trouble? ” a smile played at her lips, almost jokingly.
PALOMA & MILA ( @chcrryw1ne )
LOCATION the set of “ rise & shine ” , valmont studios news floor
the interview had gone well — paloma could tell by the way her producer's shoulders had finally dropped from up around his ears around the second question she had asked. wow, maybe she has gotten better at this. she'd only gone off script twice, which was still two times more than he would have liked, but the conversation flowed and that was always what mattered most to her. people didn't tune in to watch someone read off a teleprompter. “ okay, we're clear! ” the floor director called out. paloma unclipped her mic and then turned to mila.
“ i am so sorry that i caught you off guard with that last question, ” paloma genuinely meant it when she said it. it was an impulse. the journalist in her just had to prod further rather than sticking to the talking points mila's team had approved. great. they had been getting along so well, too. “ in my defence, i thought it was more interesting than asking about your next show for the fourth time. ”
gotten the short end of the stick, stuck being the one doing some early morning talk session when he'd have liked to have still been asleep — break between interview and needing to be back at the hospital not long enough for his taste. “ what kind of coffee is it ? ” asks looking up from his phone, sitting up slightly. “ for it to be so amazing ? ”
“ the kind that keeps people awake. ” she was already pouring. “ colombian single origin, dark roast. we're very particular about it, you know? being a morning program. ” she turned back, extending the cup. “ it's not good to have people falling asleep while we're on air. ” paloma said, almost smiling. “ it'll end up on some tv fails compilation. it'll be on the internet forever. neither of us will ever be able to live that down. ” settling against the counter, she asked “ so, you're a doctor? how's that like? ”
❝ lo! ❞ isabel met her eyes in the mirror before jumping to her feet, freshly done beach waves bouncing. ❝ i couldn't pass up the chance to be back on my favorite morning show ! ❞ also couldn't think of a better place to drop the first, official hint for her fourth album — in between the superbowl and coachella questions she assumed were planned. ❝ as long as i can add my normal vanilla and brown sugar syrup combo, lead the way. ❞
“ izzy! ” paloma closed the remaining distance between them, pulling isabel into a proper hug. “ has anyone ever told you that you're the sweetest? ” it felt like forever ago since the had met on the show. “ you look incredible. ” a PA hovered in the doorway, clipboard pressed on chest, watching paloma go conspicuously off-script. paloma glanced over. “ maya, can you please get us two of those large coffees? vanilla and brown sugar syrup in one of them. you're the best. ” “ so, ” paloma turned back, a mischievous glint in her eyes, “ how have you been? tell me everything. ”
whoever decided having rock stars on a show filming in sunlight hours was a good idea has fawn's utter hatred. when their manager had confirmed the interview time only the day before, she'd near screamed. but here she sits, powder freshly drawn and excess concealer hiding dark circles as the host herself enters. ❝ yeah, i'm sure it will be a blast. coffee'd be swell ⸺ as long as there's a lot of it. ❞
paloma laughs. she's already walking towards the coffee, heels muffled against the carpeted floor. she doesn't reach for the nearest cup. scans the table once, deliberately. eventually she finds the largest mug available. “ long night? ” not unkind. she doesn't look up, giving fawn the room to deflect if she wants to.
pops airpods out of jewelry adorned ears, diamond studs gifted at birth from grandparents, svelte silhouette turning toward paloma with a smile, " you're too kind, i'm kind of nervous about the interview but i suppose you won't mention any forbidden topics. " twirls lock of hair around index finger until soft curl releases. " do you have a matcha ? i won't be that pesky and request a matcha latte but i'm leaving coffee behind this year. "
“ forbidden topics? you've got nothing to worry about ” a reassuring smile. “ i've got you covered. we're going to have a great time out there. promise. ” paloma glanced over to the refreshments area. “ okay, so the matcha i cannot promise, ” she admitted, turning back with an apologetic look, “ but i will find out, because i would like to at least partially redeem myself. i will personally ensure they get that next time you're here! ” with her hand already on the doorknob, she turned and looked back over her shoulder. “ hey, by the way, did you happen to go to columbia? because i swear i recognize you from my lit class. ”
marlowe glances up from where she's half sunk into the chair, one leg thrown over the other, sunglasses still on despite the fact they're indoors. “ if i had to interview me, i'd need at least two drinks and a legal waiver. ” her voice has that rough edge to it – tired, maybe hungover, maybe both. she shifts enough to sit up properly. “ how amazing are we talking? because i made the mistake of getting coffee at a gas station this morning with my manager and i'm pretty sure it stripped paint off the inside of my throat. ” the corner of her mouth twitches faintly, standing up fully to brush her trousers down her legs. “ if it's good coffee, i'll love you forever. ” head tilts slightly then, attention settling back on the other properly. “ you always this calm before interviews or are you secretly panicking inside too? ”
paloma stifled a laugh. “ two drinks and a legal waiver, " she repeated. " got it. i'll see what i can do about that waiver. ” paloma said jokingly. “ gas station coffee is a hate crime, ” she said, turning back and pressing the cup gently into marlowe's hand, “ your manager owes you a formal apology for letting this happen to you before a morning interview. ” “ and to your question, i've been up since four. i slipped out of the hair chair before they finished because i couldn't sit still any longer. ” paloma chuckled. “ so, yeah i guess i am. ” a small pause. “ i mean, i haven't been doing this very long, but i don't think i'll ever get used to it. ” that was probably an embarrassing thing to admit to a guest, but marlowe had something so sincere about her. she glanced toward the door, then back. “ i should really go get this taken out before someone puts me on camera looking like this. i'll see you out there at 8? ”
STATUS open to all
LOCATION the set of “ rise & shine ” , valmont studios
paloma knocked twice before letting herself into the green room. she had slipped out mid-blowout. “ hi there! we are so happy to have you on the show. i've been looking forward to this interview all week. ” she walked closer, hand smoothing the front of her blazer out of habit. “ is there anything i can get for you before we go out there? the coffee here is amazing. ”
— public. at the source link below, you will find access to #243 gifs ( 268x150 ) of cindy kimberly in youtube videos. cindy is of indonesian & white descent, & born in 1998, so they should be cast accordingly. you may edit these gifs in any way, but do not claim as your own or use in other hunts.
⋆˚࿐ [ cindy kimberly, cis woman, she/her ] hey, i think i just served PALOMA MARTÍN ! you mean the TWENTY SEVEN year old MORNING TALK SHOW CO-HOST known for their EFFORTLESS BLOWOUTS, NOT A SINGLE HAIR OUT OF PLACE AND CHARM BRACELET THAT SEEMS TO HOLD SOME SENTIMENTAL VALUE ? no way, what did they order ? SIESTA. wow, no surprise for someone whose garnered a reputation for being MAGNETIC AND CALCULATING. i heard the hostess say they were being targeted by @ROBINHOOD because of WHISPERS THAT HER SEAT AT THE TABLE WAS HANDED TO HER, AND SOMEONE UPSTAIRS MIGHT BE TIPPING THE SCALE. maybe it's just me but it doesn't align with the tabloids screaming about LAST ONE UP IN THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS, 4AM ALARM SET 3 TIMES JUST IN CASE, THE KIND OF FAMOUS THAT STILL HOLDS THE DOOR, PAPPED OUTSIDE A BODEGA AT NOON LOOKING LIKE THAT, EARNED EVERY SINGLE THING OR DOES SHE NEED TO BELIEVE SHE DID whenever their name comes up. make sure to deliver the drink to the VALMONT MEDIA SUITE ( TABLE 3, DRINK C ) and let’s hope they're a good tipper. if not, i'll happily send in some stories of my own.
i. basics
NAME paloma grace martín NICKNAMES loma, lo AGE twenty-seven DATE OF BIRTH 11.11.98 ZODIAC scorpio HOMETOWN brooklyn, nyc PLACE OF RESIDENCE manhattan, nyc EDUCATION columbia university, ba ( english ) OCCUPATION co-host of "rise & shine", valmont media LANGUAGES english, bahasa indonesia, spanish GENDER cis woman PRONOUNS she / her ORIENTATION straight ( ? )
ii. appearance
FACECLAIM cindy kimberly HAIR dark, thick waves EYE COLOR brown EYE SHAPE doe-shaped, heavy lidded HEIGHT 5'7" ( 170 cm ) SCENT byredo mojave ghost
POSITIVE TRAITS luminous, perceptive, grounded, magnetic, compassionate, genuine NEGATIVE TRAITS inscrutable, guarded, restless, withholding, reckless, calculating MBTI infj LOVE LANGUAGE quality time + words of affirmation
v. wanted connections
TBA.
biography ( incomplete )
there was nothing much remarkable about the third floor of a brooklyn walkup. her mother worked. her father had worked. there was enough. not abundance, but enough. what the household lacked in excess it compensated for in steadiness. paloma grace martín grew up in a family that had made something from very little and wore that fact without shame. she grew up cared for, which she has learnt since then is the rarer thing.
the columbia acceptance arrived on a thursday in march, and the their little apartment became the happiest place on earth. her mother wept. her father, who had never been a sentimental man, held her in his arms, and she saw a teardrop fall from his eyes.
she graduated four years later, summa cum laude, with her mother in the third row and her father beside her, wearing the columbia logo print tie she had bought him as a joke.
as it does when your name doesn't mean anything to anyone in a room, she started at the local news, worked the hours nobody else wanted, covered the stories nobody else pitched for, and learnt how to make herself impossible to ignore. after all, talent without a stage is simply potential, unrealised. she was twenty six when her first segment aired. that changed everything. america knew who paloma martín was, and america adoredher.
and that's when she got the offer. a co-host seat, on the coveted " rise & shine " , the morning news and talk show at valmont media. strictly speaking, it was not what she had been building towards. she was a journalist, the serious kind. morning television is completely different. but " rise & shine " was the most watched morning program in the country, the biggest stage cable tv had to offer. there's no way anything could top that. and not beside strangers. beside the two people she had watched every morning since she was thirteen. this was an opportunity to work for her idols. though, technically, they were her equals now. no one in their right mind would say no to that.
she had been in the chair for three weeks when her father died.he died in february, in florida, three months into the retirement he had waited thirty years for. she booked the first flight out of new york before she called her producer, still in the blazer from tapings. and it was there, through a wall, in the small hours of a grief-fractured night, that she learned something that made her question everything she thought she knew about the ground beneath her feet.
paloma was not meant to hear it. it did not come in the form of a conversation prepared with care, delivered with the gravity it required. it came in the particular dissolution of a woman who had kept something for twenty-seven years and in the wake of loss, could not hold it in any longer. an affair. her mother was young, and he was older and married and powerful. he does not know. it was a mistake.
she did not speak of it. she thought naively, that if she did not speak of it, it wouldn't be true.the next morning she booked a car to the airport. she hugged her mother at the door. longer than usual, tighter than usual, and did not look back at the house as the car pulled away.
he does not know she exists. this is the part she finds herself repeating in her head most often. to question the foundation is to question everything built upon it, and paloma has built quite a lot.
he does not know, and therefore nothing in her life has been arranged. no doors have been held open by invisible hands. no calls have been made on her behalf by a man who does not know her name. she had built a career on her own, on her own merits. sure, maybe the offer had came sooner than she had planned for and it was bigger than she ever dreamt of. but she had earned it, and she deserved it. right? she is almost certain of it.
now, she is working very hard at being certain of it. this is what she knows: she was able to afford columbia due to careful saving and what she understood to be a scholarship, as the reward for being a good student who did everything she could with what she had. she did not think to look for another explanation, because until very recently, she was not someone who had any reason to doubt that she did not earned everything she had. and her father, dad, who raised her without condition, who was in every way that mattered her father, may have known something she now will never be able to ask him about. which means certain questions have closed permanently and many more have materialised in their place.
so she keeps herself busy with work. but now she knows a man, who could be very close to her but is more likely very far away, so far that their paths will never cross.
jbbartram-illu
2087
baratheonpilled
dededos
