thorned roses

natalie bravo ( jessica alba ). francesca 'frannie' reyes ( priscilla quintana. & abby foster ( molly gordon ).

[ofangcls]

lucifer-vale​:

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If he was more self aware, Lucifer would have noticed that the only reason she was waiting on him was because a significant portion of the crowd around them had turned at the commotion he was making over it. With a smug grin through the contempt, his tall form trailed in her wake down to a bathroom that was a bit more secluded than the one in the main hall. “Thanks a lot,” he spat, entitled as he pushed past her and into the bathroom where he took a long while wiping the rest of the liquid off his face and trying, futilely, to tidy his hair back into its previous state. 

An aggressive palm slammed open the door again with a groan of irritation as he rounded on her again, gaze accusing. “I’m not gonna be able to fix it. So again—thanks a lot. For being fucking useless. Why are you even here?” Cerulean gaze darted up and down her form as he realized now that she was actually wearing a dress, and wasn’t some sort of wait staff as he’d expected… and that she actually looked kind of stunning. At the realization he faltered a bit, and stood back, out of her face, though he kept his chin in the air. “Are you… here to invest?”

She was relatively unfazed by his hostility, at least for the most part. The anger lurked in the back of her mind, a part of her so desperately wanting to put him in his place for once. She had a habit of taking the blame when it wasn’t even necessary, and it was growing ever so obvious that that was yet another difference the two had. Natalia leaned against the opposite wall of the bathroom door, a sigh escaping her lips in a moment of pure silence.

But just as quickly as it started, it ended. “A comb would probably work better,” she replied softly, fishing a travel sized comb from her clutch. “I would offer to help, but you don’t particularly seem to want me around.” Natalia was determined to be the bigger person, to not feed into the negativity she could practically feel radiating off of him. And then the question came, What was she doing here? That one felt just a bit too ironic. “I’m one of the board members for the Women’s Club. That’s why I’m here.”

[ofangcls]

lucifer-vale​:

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The fog of THC in Lucifer’s judgement was enough to dim the lights in his awareness, and as he brought his glass of champagne up to his lips, on a beeline to go talk to a familiar face and kick persuasion into high gear, his body collided with another. Instinctively, his hand reached out to grab hold of her and steady her in her spot, but through the whole process, his champagne at splashed up into his face. “Ugh—seriously?” he grunted, expression scrunched up against the assault. An opportunistic movement towards snatching a cloth off a passing waiter’s tray allowed him to mop the alcohol before it could drip into his eyes, but now his hair was ruined. Or, at least it was to him. He’d had it and his beard groomed to perfection before the event. “Is it?” he spit back, in hushed tones, suddenly irritated as he realized who exactly he’d just bumped into. All remnants of the calm from his high were gone in a moment. “Is it nice? Because you just ruined a three hundred dollar hairstyle.”

She told herself she didn’t believe in violence, but it was becoming increasingly harder to not want to slap Lucifer across the face. Natalia had to remind herself that, technically, she was at work. That she was the host, and he was the guest. SO she wouldn’t remind him that he had bumped into her, and therefore there was just no possible scenario that she was supposed to take the blame for what happened. But this was Natalia, the girl that let herself be responsible for far too much. And frankly, people were staring, eyes peering over the mess made. “Let me show you to the bathroom, so you can get cleaned up,” she replied. Natalia wasn’t bothered by the specks of champagne present on her satin dress, a pageant-winning smile present on her face, showing the world what she always had, that everything was perfectly fine. “Come on,” she stated quietly, calming pulling him out of the wandering eyelines.

[ofangcls]

andreus-hassan​:

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“I… don’t really know, actually. I didn’t think I would even get that far. Maybe… paint? You think people would buy like, custom paint? Maybe I can get one of these big wigs to invest in that.”

“...Paint,” Frannie repeated with a slow nod. “I mean, I usually go to like, Home Depot for my paint, but hey, maybe you could come up with a new color or something. That way all the big guys will have to give you their money.”

[ofangcls]

CLOSED EVENT STARTER FOR @lucifer-vale​

Though she rarely classified herself a perfectionist, the same couldn’t be said for how she treated the Womans’ Club.  Had the food been done right? Did the bands know what time they went on? Her focus for the night had been entirely on the unspoken mistakes, noting the adjustments she should’ve made, only digging herself into a hole of uncertainty over nothing at all. She’d blame her heels and focus on anything but her immediate surroundings that caused her to almost fall after being bumped into by the man in front of her, someone who’d she’d only recently come to know of. Though she’d only recently realized that she’d seen his name before, weeks ago stacked in paperwork. “Mr. Vale, it’s nice to see you again,” she spoke curtly.

[andreus-hassan]

OPEN EVENT STARTER location: on the sidewalk outside of Salt & Ink time: 10PM

“I should have gotten myself an LLC before this and tried to get someone to invest in me. I’m sick of bills.”

[ofangcls]

“Oh, the nights young. You could always present your business, and worry about all the paperwork later,” Frannie replied with a shrug. “What would you be selling anyways?”

[ofangcls]

lucifer-vale​:

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He grinned now, amused with her beliefs and wholeheartedly believing his own perspectives were superior. “Ahhh, I see. You’re one of those people who thinks the world runs off compassion.” He took back the beer, poured a scotch for her instead and sipped on the beer himself. “See, the issue with that theory is that I don’t just think I can get whatever I want, without kindness. I know I can, and I do. Frequently. The world doesn’t run off compassion. It runs off greed, gorgeous.”

Natalia didn’t miss the tone he held with her, swishing around the scotch in her glass with a light smile still on her face. “I actually don’t think it does. Now you’re oh for two.” She took a sip of her drink, the familiar liquid going down with ease. “But what’s so great about being greedy, like everyone else? You look at me like I’m weak, like my kindness will be my downfall. But being greedy isn’t strength, being greedy just means you’ll never really be satisified with your life. That you’ll always be searching for something you’ll never find.”

[ofangcls]

lucifer-vale​:

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“I read people well, Natalia. My assumptions are always accurate.” He pushed the beer back to her. “Like I know that there’s a specific reason why you won’t drink this beer, and it’s not because I’m the one giving it to you. I also know you think kindness gets you places in this world. It doesn’t. You also think being kind will get you kindness in return. It doesn’t. So, how do you think someone like you, gets someone like me, to stop insisting you call me sir? Hmm? By telling me “I’m sorry” and “thank you”? Drink the beer. You clearly need it.”

“I don’t treat people a certain way because I think it’ll get me further in life, I do it because I think people deserve kindess. Even people like you, who haven’t been kind at all and who I fully don’t expect to ever be. People aren’t pawns to be used and abused for the sake of someone else. But you’re right, I can’t stop you from doing anything. Because you’re the kind of person who thinks he can get whatever he wants, without ever thinking about anyone but themselves,” she replied. “And I hate beer. Maybe you should’ve gone with scotch instead.”

[ofangcls]

lucifer-vale​:

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Another scoff left him at her words. As with most interactions involving Lucifer, they’d fallen into an almost tug-o-war for power with one another, where he bullishly pushed her boundaries for the sheer amusement of it. The stranger’s everlasting politeness made him smirk behind the keg as he tapped it, and then poured bright amber liquid up to its own foam in a glass and pushed it towards her. After all, she’d already paid him, and he always got what he wanted. “You should stick to sir. Like the way it sounds. You got a name? Or are you too good for proper introductions too?” 

“No thank you. To both,” she replied softly, pushing the drink off to the side. Somehow, declining the drink in front of her made her feel as if she had the slightest bit of power in this situation. The same way she wouldn’t be calling him sir, a word she’d associated with being respectful almost tainted by the way he’d thrown it around. “Natalia. Do you always make blatant assumptions about every person you meet?” The question wasn’t asked with malice, she finding herself moreso curious by his line of thinking. 

[ofangcls]

socialitism​:

OPEN TO: anyone 

LOCATION: salt & ink

“ Look, I’m not really in the mood right now so unless you have something strong to drink, I don’t care.”

“Who pissed in your cereal?” Abby let out, rolling her eyes at the other’s temperment, though not much different than hers. “I’m here for a tattoo—Don’t you work here?” She did have a flask on her, though Abby had no intention of giving alcohol to someone who might just be putting a needle to her skin.

[ofangcls]

lucifer-vale​:

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Lukas didn’t look back at her as she spoke, instead choosing to listen to her tirade with amusement. He was the Devil of Key West—why the hell would he care whether he was nice or not? Eyes only found the woman again when he rounded the bar, and leaned forward on the counter to address her, gaze intense but smile entertained. “Mister Vale. Lucifer Vale.” In a fashion that he expected, even through sticking up for herself she still did as he said. “But you can feel free to keep calling me sir.” 

He pushed back to dip underneath the bar, and haul a keg out onto the counter. “You gonna tell me what you’re drinking or do I have to guess?”

For the most part, Natalia had mastered the art of biting her tongue. Polite even in situations where she should’ve been sticking up for herself. And everytime she made an exception, she found herself cursing her mind. One step forward, two steps back. Perhaps I’ll stick to never seeing you again. She offered a poised smile—as if the recent incidents of her frustration had never happened— instead of her own name, or what she truly wanted to say. “’ll stick to Mr. Vale.”

“I don’t drink, so a water is fine.” It was a lie, she did drink. Just not in public. 

[ofangcls]

lucifer-vale​:

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Under normal circumstances, the money would have been plenty to satiate him, especially since it totaled out to at least two drinks’ worth, but Lucifer was an opportunistic type, and seeing how insulting her even once made her react, made the ever-familiar twinge of challenge creep into him. Just how far could he take it before she abandoned all that prudishness? “No,” he answered, though he still plucked the twenty from her anyway. A smirk tugged on his features, gaze still locked downwards onto hers. “I want you to come have a drink.” He spoke it as if his word was final, as if what he wanted he undoubtedly would get and led the way back into the club, not a doubt in his mind that she wouldn’t follow. 

She hardly had a bold lifestyle. She went to work, where she planned charity events and spent more time on the phone with caterers than anyone else. And then she went home, had a drink, and went to bed. Hardly did she find herself at a bar, let alone one inside of a strip club. Natalia’s eyes widened as she seemingly grew more frustrated with the man across from her. “That’s not a very nice way to speak to people, you do know that, right?” She should’ve left, but instead found herself trailing behind, continuing to speak. “The whole world does not revolve around what you want, Mr... Strip Club Person.”

[ofangcls]

lucifer-vale​:

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Lucifer’s gaze bore down into the woman, studying her entire presence. She looked more like she could work in his own offices at Second Circle than being a dancer, and he scoffed when she explained herself. ‘Legal consensual sex work’. For someone who’s entire career was based off of sex work, Lukas had a very objectifying view of it. “Tfft.” Eyes rolled as he lifted off his apron, and demanded one of his bartenders go watch the cooking food. “Too prudish to pick up a sign, but you’ll still call me sir, huh?” he retorted condescendingly, as if he hadn’t heard a single word of her perfectly valid justification. His bulky form pushed past her to lead the way back out to the front entrance, where he found the sign swinging off its hinges. With his own height a great deal taller than hers, it wasn’t an even remotely difficult task for him to hook it back up securely. “Now, how hard was that?” He rounded on her, expression still stoic. “You had enough time to stop and complain about the sign. I expect you’re gonna compensate me for the inconvenience and have a drink.” It wasn’t a question.

She almost felt like she was being punk’d right now. It was as if the man in front of her wasn’t hearing anything she was saying. Perhaps it was somewhere between the walk towards the front of the front entrance or the moment that he’d called her a prude. Of course, there was no doubt she could very much be that way at times, but it wasn’t something for a man she’d only met to decide. Natalia prided herself on being a friendly person, someone who didn’t judge people on face value. Though right now, she was having a hard time doing so. “If you wanted to keep your sign dangling from its hooks, you would’ve just left it alone, so it really wasn’t an inconvience to you,” she replied. It was baffling to her, the words coming out of his mouth. She found herself fishing for her wallet, her head shaking in response to his demand as she pulled out a 20. “There, that should be enough for the cost of a drink.”

[ofangcls]

tendiespullum​:

“Yeah, I don’t care.” Juliana confessed. It wasn’t as if she was sunshine and rainbows herself. She brushed her tongue along her lower lip. “I just know how much it sucks to stay in wet clothes and I had some spares. You could always say no and stay in the outfit you are in… It does not affect me either way.” She put her hand on her hip as she glanced down towards the cigarette between the woman’s fingers. “How much do I need to give you to get one of those?”

“Fantastic,” Abby let out. At least now she wouldn’t have to entertain the idea of upsetting someone with her abrasive personality. Juliana had a point. The only thing keeping her from being completely pissed off was the warm temperature. But sure enough, she’d have to go back to shift and bare more sleazy guys who’d love nothing more than to finish what the first guy started. A cloud of smoke escaped her lips as she spoke, answering the other’s question. “Just the shirt.”

[ofangcls]

lucifer-vale​:

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Unamused eyes stared down at the woman, as if waiting for her to continue, and when she didn’t fill the following silence with anything else, he folded his arms over his chest and glared forward. “So, you came all the way in here to bother me over the sign outside falling?” His tone was intentionally degrading towards her, especially because the discomfort he noticed in her features made him even more irritated. “What? You too good to pick up a sign for a strip club off the ground?”

If she had any backbone, Natalia would’ve pointed out that her current office outfit wasn’t exactly fit to start doing construction work, and that she’d tried picking it up, but it’d been far too long since her days of high school volleyball and frequent excercise. “What? Of course not, I’m completely supportive of legal, consensual sex work. I didn’t know where the sign went, is all, I’d be happy to put it back up for you if I knew,” she clarified. “I really did not mean to bother you, sir. If it were me working here, I would’ve just done it myself.”

[ofangcls]

lucifer-vale​:

open starter location: the red garder saloon time: 9PM

“What do you want? I’m making my dancers breakfast. Make it quick.”

It was moments like these where Natalia wished she was better at concealing her emotions. If it wasn’t her reserved demeanour indicating she did not fit into a place like this, it was the clear uncomfort present on her face as she passed through the strip club, a part of her hoping she wouldn’t be there very long. “Oh! I apologize. It’s just, I was on my way home and I think someone knocked over your sign. I didn’t know if it was a big deal, but I just figured someone should know.”

[ofangcls]

lucifer-vale​:

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A deep, slightly irritated sigh left the man’s lips, and then he glanced over to his bartender, abandoning the sizzling pan before him to turn and face her. “Dance for me then. I can turn the light off.” Blue eyes were dead serious, though a playful smirk was now making an appearance.

 “My breakfast is in the dead of night. Y’know,” he began, clearing his throat as hands moved to deliberately tug the apron from around his neck. Lucifer took a few casual steps towards her, hands slipping into pockets until he was close enough that he had to look down to find her eyes with how he towered over her. “You don’t decide if you’re a valued employee. I decide that. You want breakfast, show me why I value you.” Smirk bloomed into full, challenging grin, gaze unrelenting.

“Oh, I bet you’d love that,” Frannie let out with a laugh. 

Unlike some people, she didn’t shy away from her boss’s gaze. Despite his domineering personality, Frannie was much tougher than she looked. Lukas Vale was hardly the most intimidating person she’d met. “Of course I get to decide. I’ve been here long enough. Longer than you, actually. The regulars here don’t just come to see the dancers, they come to see the pretty girl behind the bar too.” She continued to smile, a large part of her certainly not taking this conversation seriously. “So, what’s on the menu, boss?”

[ofangcls]

lucifer-vale​:

open starter location: the red garder saloon time: 9PM

“What do you want? I’m making my dancers breakfast. Make it quick.”

“Maybe I want some breakfast too. Sure, my dancing skills are usually limited to dark, crowded spaces and not stages, but I’m still a valued employee,” Frannie replied with a grin. “And by the way, breakfast time was about 12 hours ago, in case you missed it.”