melodramatic

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

[ink-and-ephemera]

a dependent multi-muse blog for palmviewfm. penned by becky

────﹒♡﹒────

˗ˏˋ Wrenly Beaufort ˎˊ˗ || Ella Purnell. Med Student. Twenty-Nine years old dropped

˗ˏˋ Sydney Grayson ˎˊ˗ || Aisha Dee. Freelance Photographer. Twenty-Seven years old

˗ˏˋ Desmond Singh ˎˊ˗ || Avan Jogia. Musician/Author. Thirty-Two years old

[ink-and-ephemera]

where: the heights tavern bar who: @fromthestarsx

Desmond looked over the song catalogue, reaching for his drink. He did that little clumsy tongue thing trying to catch the straw, the end stabbing his top lip and cheek before he finally caught it between his lips and took a long sip. "You gonna sing?" they asked, setting his rainbow sherbert pina colada down on the table and sliding the song catalogue closer to James. He pushed his bright pink sunglasses up to the top of his head. "I could pick your song for ya. You look like a Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels kinda guy," he added with a grin.

[golddvstfm]

in a way, holly had initially wondered if meeting with dez was actually a good idea. after all these years, with a chronological list of everything they'd been through together a mile long at this point, flashing bright between them as a steady reminder, she couldn't help but remember the way she was the last time they were together. just how bad she'd gotten, how destructive she was towards every aspect of her life, including the band and their... whatever they were. for a second, when his profile showed up on her screen, she considered running again, grabbing that suitcase that never seemed to get unpacked and disappearing in the middle of the night just like she had a year and a half ago. but really, what would that solve, when she'd made so much progress here already?

the fear of what could happen if let him back into her orbit lingered in the back of her mind. if he was back in her life, what other habits could start to return. could she be around him and interact with him in this new version of herself? would he like her and the person she'd grown into the way he liked her back then? the way she'd felt like she could love him?

and then there he was, just 10 feet from the shop's entrance, and he handed her the cup of coffee with an ease that made it feel like they'd never left each other's sides. (what would have happened if she hadn't left that night? would there still be a them? would they be doing this easy handoff all the time?). that familar feeling of tightness found its way into holly's chest, a reminder that they'd always have that red string tying them together for the rest of their lives. this was probably always going to happen. they'd find each other no matter what; that's what they'd said once, whispered in the middle of the night, tangled between sheets in some less than stellar hotel room in philly, or maybe chicago.

"you remembered," she said simply, her words almost surprised. she took the offering, immediately gripping the cup just a hair tighter when the familiar scent wafted up to her nose. exactly how she always drank it, still to this day. of course he'd remembered. she let her lips curl into a small grin as she took steps towards the two chairs in the corner of the shop. "a lot has changed, but you'll never get me to believe sugar goes in coffee."

[ink-and-ephemera]

"Well, yeah," Dez said almost too casually, a noncommittal lift of one shoulder. A forced inflection to his voice that tried to cover the way his nerves were high and alive. Too obvious, he thought, and cleared his throat before bringing their own coffee to his lips. "The number of late-night coffee runs after a show we would go just to survive the next day? Hard to forget..." The lack of falling inflection lingered, an unfinished statement they weren't willing to voice right then. Because it was probably too soon to finish that thought with you tacked onto the end. Because it was probably equally too late for it, too.

Looking at her now, it was hard to remember the girl she had been when they were... not exactly together, but something. Not in a way that would signify Holly as anything forgettable. God knows she was anything but.

Two minutes in reunion, and he could already see that she was, in fact, better. A little more light to her eyes, where they would have described them as dimmed by everything before. She just seemed... Brighter.

Recovery looked good on her, and he decided then and there that if there was the remotest possibility of breaking that, he would do everything in his power to make sure that wasn't him. He was aware enough to know that recovery was a slippery slope, that one thing, one event, one person... The wrong thing, and you could slide.

"I see you changed your hair again, too." His eyes flickered from her face to trace her hair before going back to her eyes. Darker than he's ever seen it, from what he remembered. "I like it." He said it in that tone often only ever reserved for her without meaning to. Soft. Reminiscent of whispered promises when the moon was highest in the sky.

He gestured to an empty booth along the wall, an invitation in the tilt of his head. A safe, open space to catch up. Moreso, he missed her.

He missed her in a way that reminded him why getting close to people was dangerous. And yet, here he was, having agreed to catch up with someone who had proved to him what he already knew about people. Sitting was dangerous. Standing was safer, in a way. Perhaps it was foolish. Perhaps he was foolish. He'd agree to that. "Wanna sit?" he asked, already stepping closer to the table by half a step.

[fromthestarsx]

closed starter: @ink-and-ephemera {sydney}

where: pelican place mini golf

"I have a date tonight." Hinata's excitement pulled a grin onto his lips as he spoke to his friend. He and Sydney had been friends since he was young, and it wasn't out of the ordinary for them to spend a lot of time together.

"With Stella."

[ink-and-ephemera]

Sydney kept her eyes on him as he spoke. A habit she had to learn early on to keep up with most conversations. A quick glance away as she shifted her grip on the putter and swung, hitting the ball down the course of hole one. Arguably, the easiest hole on the whole course, and yet, she was still arguably terrible and was on her fifth stroke. She didn't watch as the ball rolled, her attention back on Hinata. "Oh my gosh! Really?! How did that happen?"

"Are you excited? Nervous? Where are you guys going?"

[lovesh0ts]

     ✩      ◞       STARTER       open to @ink-and-ephemera .      ✩      ◞       location       pride picnic  @  saltpoint park .

with their eyebrows knitted together in concentration,  demian extended their checkered blanket on the grass,  making sure it didn’t have a single crease before putting their basket full of goods on top of it.   they admired their simple work and nodded to themself once,  satisfied,  immediately feeling lynch’s quiet impatience by their side.   “   just a minute,  buddy,   ”   he uttered to the dog as he pulled a small ball from the pocket of his shorts and toyed with it in his hand for a second.   he was about to throw it for lynch when the sight of sydney walking toward them gave him pause.   “   hey !   ”   he waved with enthusiasm and laughed under his breath at lynch’s contained need to run to rusty.   “   easy,  boy,  not yet.   ”   they warned,  their smile growing the more sydney approached.   “   hi !   we were waiting for you two.   how was the trip ?   god knows it took me a while to get here.   ” 

[ink-and-ephemera]

Sydney navigated the paths, keeping an eye out for Demian as she got closer to where they said they should meet up, her hands full with her own little basket of goodies. When she spotted him with their own pooch, she visibly perked up, a wide grin stretching across her face. Rusty trotted close beside her, connected to her hip with her belt leash, his tail swishing and swaying excitedly the moment he saw Lynch. Thankfully, he didn't try to rush forward like the last time they met up.

Sydney offered Demian a little wave as she got closer. "Hey!" She carefully set her basket down next to the other basket as Rusty sniffed at Lynch's muzzle and let out one of those playful little doggy sneezes. "Sorry. Hope you two weren't waiting too long? I got a little lost looking for you," she admitted with a bubbly little giggle. She looked down and made little kissy noises at Lynch to get the pooch's attention long enough for her to hold her hand out to him, palm up so he could sniff her. "Hey, gorgeous boy," she cooed.

"I brought some hand wipes, a trash bag, and a little surprise for both you and Lynch to take home!"

[ink-and-ephemera]

where: early morning brews who: @golddvstfm

The scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the entirety of the coffee shop. Dez stood off to the side after placing an order. His lips pursed together as his foot rhythmically tapped against the linoleum flooring. He'd never really been the one to be nervous for anything. The closest that he could compare would be the first few shows he played with Velvet Moon while on tour. Locally had been surprisingly easy compared to the tour.

Now it was worse than that. His hand quickly smoothed his hair back from his forehead before pressing his fingers into each other to stretch them a bit. Just something to do with his hands while also incorporating some minor physiotherapy during the slow ticking seconds until Holly was supposed to be there.

The barista just set down two cups of coffee when he heard the bell ding for maybe the sixth time, and for the sixth time, his eyes cut over to the door to see who walked in. Something in his chest stuttered at the sight of her. In person. After all this time. Thanking the barista, he grabbed both coffees and approached Holly with a soft smile. "Hey. I went ahead and ordered for you." He held the steaming cup out for her with his left hand before swapping his own coffee to that very hand. The grip on his right hand was still a little funny, and he'd rather not draw attention to it.

Should have worn longer sleeves...

"Though... Now it feels a little presumptuous to assume you still take your coffee the way you did, and that maybe I should have waited instead. My luck, you've decided that sugar actually does go in coffee."

[golddvstfm]

open starter! (@palmviewstarters) location: the bar at the beach party

natalia's nose wrinkled at her first sip of whatever fruity monstrosity was placed in front of her, and she'd hardly had a chance to argue with with the person behind the bar before they walked away (how hard was it to make a good drink? did these bartenders have no training?). she let out a huff, straightened her shoulders, and pushed the cup six inches further away from her, glaring at the back of the bartender's head. when she turned again, she felt the eyes of the person next to her, and let out a groan.

"don't look at me like that. it's not my fault he sucks at his job. like, god, learn how to make a good drink before you become a bartender." tough words for someone who'd never worked a food service job before!

[ink-and-ephemera]

Dez paused with his own drink halfway to his lips. Likewise, the same fruity concoction was in her hand, if the color peeking through the glass held any indication. He didn't respond immediately, continuing to raise the glass until he took a slow, deliberate sip. He hummed almost thoughtfully, twisting his own glass around as if they were inspecting the drink. "I mean... Mine tastes pretty good. Might just not be your cup of tea? Doesn't mean he can't make a drink."

"What do you normally drink?"

[ink-and-ephemera]

𝙳𝚎𝚜𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚂𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚑

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕔𝕤

Name: Desmond Singh Nickname: Dez Face Claim: Avan Jogia Birthday: Sept 24 Zodiac: Libra Age: 32 Occupation: Musician, Author (not many people know this) Gender: Cis-Male Pronouns: He/They Sexual Orientation: Pansexual Romantic Orientation: Demi-romantic

𝔻𝕖𝕖𝕡𝕖𝕣 𝔻𝕚𝕧𝕖

Myers-Briggs: ENFP-A Positive Traits: Charming, Flirty, Gentle, Optimistic, Supportive Negative Traits: Forgetful, Impulsive, Scatterbrained, Self-Indulgent, Flighty Hobbies: Writing, Jogging, Exercising, Surfing, Yoga, Beer Brewing

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕀𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕦𝕗𝕗

TW: Car Accident Mention, Parental Death Mention, Allusion to Abuse, Heart Attack Mention

The year was 1994—late January. Alana Bishops had been working late at a local bar. Customers making advances were her bread and butter, how she paid off her student loans. After all, she had learned that a man was willing to tip her better if they were led to believe she was equally as interested. That was when she met Karan Singh. A second-generation immigrant. Probably one of the first of her patrons she let take her home.

One night turned into several, and eventually, Alana became pregnant. And, lucky for her, Karan was more than willing to step up. They got married, moved in together, and surprisingly, their relationship seemed to work. And Desmond was born later that year. They ended up doting spouses and equally doting parents.

Unfortunately, at the age of seven, his father passed away from a sudden heart attack. His mother eventually remarried, and he now has a younger half-sister.

While he grew resentful towards his stepfather, he absolutely adored his sister. And when his stepfather’s temper became intense, his protective nature developed early as he often acted out to shield both his sister and his mother.

At fourteen, he was staying with his uncle during the summer and found a 3-string dusty acoustic guitar left sitting in the garage. He made a deal with his uncle. “Mow my yard for the rest of the summer, the guitar is yours.” While he ended up getting the guitar, he couldn’t afford to buy new strings. He ended up replacing them by scavaging used and discarded strings from behind the local music shop he hung out at.

He’d visit said music shop, spending hours in the store pretending to shop the guitars just so he could mess with them and practice. He slowly learned chord shapes by watching older musicians in the shop. He couldn’t read sheet music and didn’t know where to even begin, so he taught himself by muscle memory and watching. He’d practice finger placements at home in silence, then test himself whenever he returned to the shop.

He did eventually get a parttime job at that music shop. Mostly on the weekends since he was still in high school. Every dollar went to buying his first electric guitar.

Writing and music became the escape he needed when home life was chaotic and unbearable. Music was an emotional outlet where he could vent his frustrations while his stories became a safe haven where every outcome was planned.

During high school, he’d developed a reputation as a player that follows him to this day. Most of his, well, I won’t say relationships because that wasn’t what they were, typically didn’t last more than twelve weeks, and that’s generous. He had learned at an early age that people will either hurt you, change or leave when love was involved, so he always made it abundantly clear he was not in it for the endgame.

That doesn’t mean he hated love. In fact, he loved love. He was just convinced that it was outside the realm of possibility for him. Maybe a part of him craved that kind of connection. Maybe that was why he started writing romance novels on the side. Maybe… just maybe… the heroes of his stories were based on the partner he wishes he could be.

No, that’d be ridiculous.

Also, he writes under a pen name.

His first book got published when he was twenty three years old. A good part of his royalties go into a savings account to help pay for his sister’s tuition.

Then, Velvet Moon happened. A small town band that he joined. The steady climb left little time for anything else for him. And for a while, with his bandmates, he felt… unstoppable. They climbed. People listened to their sound. They were going to make names for themselves. Be something. Do something. Chasing a dream that very few could reach.

Him and Holly seemed to have hit it off. A mutually beneficial arrangement. Perhaps there should have been a boundary to not sleep with your coworkers, but she was there. He was there. Why not? They both didn’t want anything serious. His three month rule turned into eighteen months before he knew it. Then Holly… the fight…

Everything went downhill from there. She’d up and left without a word. The remainder of the band fizzled out all together.

Dez eventually got back into writing again, slower, because he’d moved on to doing music solo and posting his stuff on YouTube. He grew a small following, even performed locally at a few venues.

Then, a few months ago, he was shot down again. Driving back to his apartment late one night, a distracted driver totaled his car. He ended up suffering a fractured wrist and nerve damage in his dominant hand. While his fracture is healed up now, he’s still going through physical therapy to get his wrist back to playing shape.

He didn’t move back to Palmview until somewhat recently. He hasn’t touched his music since the accident, and his writing has also taken a hit.

[ink-and-ephemera]

where: sunset villa beach (choose your own adventure) who: @luvlaced

"Jade!" Sydney called, quickly rushing over to the other woman, camera in hand. "Okay, I know this is probably a little weird, buuuuut..." She lifted the camera up just a little bit, wiggling it enticingly. "Okay, well, first off, hi. Stunning, by the way. Second, this spot? Great for a picture, the sun is setting just right, there's that really pretty glow going on. Want me to snap a few pics? Maybe let me add them to my portfolio? I'll even send them your way, too."

"You can obviously say no."

[ink-and-ephemera]

where: sunset villa beach (i dunno, anywhere you want) who: @fromthestarsx

Sydney clicked her tongue to get Rusty's attention, holding a chicken biscuit dog treat out to him. "Sit," she commanded firmly, her fuzzy pooch obediently sitting down. His ears perked up immediately, eyes laser-focused on the treat. With a lopsided little grin, her eyes cut over to James. "You know, I've been trying to teach him new tricks. Like 'attack'," she teased, unable to keep her smile from growing mischievous. "That way, when you try to steal him from me again..." She shrugged noncommitally. She reached down to feed Rusty his treat.

She reached into the little treat pouch attached to the belt leash at her hip, holding another biscuit out for James. "You're lucky I like you despite all the threats to dognap my dog."

[ink-and-ephemera]

where: sunset villa beach (by the bonfire) who: @savsvane

"Hey, sweetness!" Sydney hummed in playful greeting as she plopped down in the free seat next to Savannah. Kicking one leg over the other, she pulled her crossbody bag into her lap and rummaged through it for a moment before pulling out a green bag of sour Skittles. She held it out for Savannah, giving it a little shake so that the candies inside rattled against each other. Almost like she was trying to entice. "A little pick me up for ya."

"Okay, I'll be honest, I found these in my pantry, and I don't like Sour Skittles aaaand..." She paused and squinted as she read the packaging. "They're only three days outta date. I think that's supposed to enhance the malic acid or whatever. Like wine. Don't fact-check me, I'm only 60% certain."

[ink-and-ephemera]

where: sunset villa beach (by the ferris wheel) who: @fliightriisk

Sydney's nose crinkled, her eyes glued to the massive, slowly spinning contraption that seemed to rock back and forth at an alarming rate. Well, alarming to her, anyway. She hated heights, and the structural integrity of any theme ride that went higher than a small house gave her the chills that she could barely suppress. She always had to skip that one scene in The Notebook because Ryan Gosling's character stressed her out waaaaaay too much.

"You know," she started, glancing over at the nearest person. Luca, just a few paces away, was not in line like her. "I've never understood how these things scream 'romance', yanno? Okay, sure. Being in an enclosed space together? Maybe I get that, but... You can get that kinda privacy anywhere. The little gondola thingies? They rock around too much and... You know, I'm not going to list every single reason this thing freaks me out while my daughter is on it."

"Anyways, I'm surprised to see you out and enjoying the festivities." From what little they've interacted, she wouldn't have pegged him to be the type to partake in the local shindig. "Having any fun, at least?"

[cantodeflores]

[starcatching]

Seth and Lorde Go Day Drinking

[pelinore]

[boober-inothegrouch]

Ella Purnell

[fromthestarsx]

open starter: @palmviewstarters

where: beach party

"I don't know what they do to these raspberry cream cheese Danishes to make them so delicious, but I am addicted!" Laken exclaimed before taking a bite of her second danish. "The bakers at Sunshine Bakery are wizards or something."

[ink-and-ephemera]

Sydney glanced up from her own blueberry cream cheese Danish, half-eaten. "Sister tax. Lemme try it," Sydney mumbled with her mouth full for a moment. She finished chewing and swallowed. With her mouth wide open, she leaned over in an attempt to steal a bite from Laken's treat. A playful habit she never outgrew with Laken. Usually an unsuccessful bit of thievery since Laken could plainly see her coming.

"You know, I've never tried to make danishes before. Maybe I should."

[realscars]

WHERE:   s'mores  making  station,  towards  the  back. WITH:    you!!!  +  @palmviewstarters,   capping  @  4.

she's  somehow  found  a  spot  that  isn't  surrounded  by  couples  or  screaming  children;  hidden  in  a  small  little  cover,  but  the  perfect  spot  to  people-watch.  a  little  warm  due  to  all  of  the  bodies  around  but  enough  so  she  isn't  having  to  move  out  of  the  way  every  single  minute.  except  —  “oh,”  is  what  she  says,  seeing  someone  looking  for  a  seat.  “this  isn't  taken.  it's  just  me.”  she  tries  her  best  to  give  a  genuine,  shy  smile  -  shuffling  her  back  into  her  lap  instead  of  beside  her.  “are  you  going  to  try?  the  s'mores  thing,  i  mean.”

[ink-and-ephemera]

Wrenly let out a huffy little laugh, a sheepish grin on her face. "Thanks," she said, moving to settle in the seat next to the other woman. She leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on her knees as she watched the people huddled by where they made s'mores. Her posture would have made her mother throw a fit if she saw.

She offered a noncommittal shrug. "Maybe? I haven't decided. Never actually had one, but I'm at least curious." Her nose crinkled slightly while watching someone eat one. "You?"

"You know, maybe I'm not really missing out on them. They look so messy and sticky." She glanced at the other, offering her a tight-lipped smile. "I'm Wren, by the way."