♔

candice underhill, twenty-five, talk show host. she will calm your storms so in the end, she can drown you herself.

[htgawmsource]

[springtimcs-blog]

“So, I mean, the point is that I broke a patron’s purse. And I’d best figure out a way to make it up to her if I want to keep my job. Do you think she’d take brownies as reparations?”

[opulcntia-blog]

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t,” Candice remarked with a sniff. “What you ought to do is replace her purse, with copious apologies. How you even managed to ruin it is beyond my comprehension, and please don’t mistake that for an opportunity to explain it to me.”

[chaserrose-blog]

“Oi! I’m a greedy twenty-three year old, I can’t pay for all of these people around me. I can’t take care of an animal, let alone be responsible for someone’s bills. As for your mum–my mum and my grandmum tried and failed to teach me anything. Apparently I ‘didn’t listen’ and was too busy ‘singing obnoxiously’. Bloody liars, the lot of them.”

[opulcntia-blog]

“I feel like that bit about the animal is something you know from personal experience, but I won’t pry. And the spells, well, don’t be dramatic, Rose. You certainly seem determined and I’m sure I wouldn’t be wrong to put ‘food’ high up on your list of priorities. One of these days, you’re going to have to learn to put it together for yourself.”

[zachzabsarchive-blog]

Zach would continue the argument as it was always a battle that he was wanting to win, Italian versus French, but he would be the bigger man and call a truce for this round. “Why should we waste the time to discuss such things, anyway? Far as I can tell, nothing in our system is broken, so we should go on as we are.” But he didn’t want to talk about politics. Talk of shopping, however, were quick to have his full attention. “An invitation for shopping and food? Who am I to say no to that? And, to be fair to our truce, let’s agree to neither go for French or Italian cuisine? Maybe we could meet halfway and go for German?”

[opulcntia-blog]

Candice fluttered her fingers, as if the election talk were a pesky butterfly she could easily brush away. “See, now that’s the charming peacemaker we all know and love. German sounds lovely, I’m in.” Reaching into her frankly enormous tote, she rifled around until she came up with the invitation, flashing it briefly at Zach before she scanned it. “I just hope the event doesn’t end up being boring. It doesn’t say black tie, but maybe I should go in a gown anyway, intimidate some people into slipping up and entertaining me,” she wondered aloud with a shrug. “Is that bad of me?”

[trcmulousarchive-blog]

Luke wasn’t smart. And he knew that she didn’t think that he was. He only graduated because it wasn’t as if Hogwarts failed many of its students. But it wasn’t as if he was ignorant. He knew how important a first impression was. And he knew that he never made a good one. Having the Avery name, an ancient, pureblood name wasn’t enough. He was the product of his father’s affair with a woman who wanted nothing to do with Luke after he was born. He was born asthmatic, with lungs too small to breathe in the world without panicking. His shoulders trembled, and his eyes were always downcast like they were now as he flicked them to the ground. “You can only give as good of an impression as you can when you have the confidence to back it up, right? When you have skills, accomplishments. But thank you for trying to help.” The words were flat, meek. “I’m just not cut out for it like you are. You’re in the media a lot, right? You know how to talk to people.”

[opulcntia-blog]

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Candice exhaled in a rush. Did this boy spend a lot of time wallowing in self-pity? He seemed near enough to drowning in it. Well, she hadn’t set out this morning with the intention of fixing someone’s life, but he was really demanding it of her. That, and if she remained in this conversation much longer with this boy and his sad puppy face, she was going to catch something from him. “Fake it ‘til you make it,” she replied with a shrug, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder with something like reassurance. “It’s not about how you feel, it’s about how other people think you feel. I don’t always want to wear a smile and ask vapid questions about people’s love lives, y’know. But I do it anyway, and everyone thinks it’s what I was born to do. You just have to get used to telling people what they want to hear.”

[chaserrose-blog]

“They probably wouldn’t mind a slight change. Maybe a bit more responsibility. I think cooking skills would be up there as well, and cleaning. I can do most magic flawlessly, and then when it comes to cleaning spells I’m absolutely rubbish. It’s like my wand knows not to bother.”

[opulcntia-blog]

“Rose, how can you hope to take care of yourself one day without basic housekeeping spells? I just copied some from my mother’s cook, I can lend her out to you if you’d like to learn. Wait, that’s now the second person from my staff I’ve offered to you. Maybe I should put them on your payroll, too.”

[zachzabsarchive-blog]

“But doesn’t everything sound better with an Italian flare to it? And, pft, election, smelection. All a bunch of dragonshite if you ask me. Why do we need change? Everything’s running smoothly far as I can see it. What’s that saying? Don’t fix what isn’t broken. So I’m there with you. The less I have to hear about it, the better. Everytime i go to a gala and someone talks about it, I just pour back some more wine. Which grandma does have an immaculate taste for, obviously, so it’s probably best you not even try, yeah, but I’ll let her know you said hello.”

[opulcntia-blog]

“You are so biased and I’m half-French, so we’re not even going to start this old argument up again. Hear, hear. There are a lot of big ideas and plans being discussed in this election and frankly, I don’t think the wizarding world has had enough time to think them all over. And then they’re going to be expected to make a decision so quickly? It can’t lead to anything good, that’s all I know. Actually, speaking of galas, an invite arrived at the house for a fundraiser for Ms. Warbeck next month. I was going to go shopping for something to wear, and if you come along, I’ll buy lunch.”

[noctivcgus-blog]

“I suppose,” James conceded, “But I’m not so sure I want them to make those decisions under such distress that it’s quite literally life-or-death.. Those type of decisions aren’t made very rationally. And you are right about that. We have a lot of strides to make in terms of how we treat each other. We’ve come a long way, but society is a work in progress.” They had laws and government, but they could not force individuals to abide by them. And the laws they even had could use reform or they could benefit from improving their relationships with other types of beings. There was a lot of work yet to be done, but James knew that he for one was not qualified to make those kind of decisions. Switching his weight from one side to the other, he brought his cup to his lips and took a swallow of his coffee. “Shocking, I know.” James didn’t find it particularly surprising, but there were those, it seemed, that had assumed he would remain a mischievous troublemaker all his life. “Well, I don’t know about all that. I certainly enjoy what I do, but I imagine that you could say the same? You have quite a bit of success all your own. Like me, it’s something different every day with what you do. Interviewing new people and the like.”

[opulcntia-blog]

She shrugged airily, her head tilted as she listened to his argument. “You have your preferences, I have mine. We’ll just have to agree to disagree about our electoral process, Potter.” Candice could admit that sometimes she thought about herself as Minister of Magic, but it wasn’t really a job she’d want. The power and control was a draw, certainly, but there was too much responsibility involved when political manoeuvres inevitably went south. She’d prefer to have a position of influence in the Minister’s life, being someone they confided in and sought the advice of. “I know we weren’t really the best of friends in school, but your exploits did get around. All good things, I promise.” Or, at least, they’d provided precisely the type of gossip that Candice and her friends had exulted in. Shifting in her seat, she curled her hand into a fist and rested her chin on it as she spoke. “That’s true, something or someone new every day. New, but not necessarily different, just another entertainer or athlete or expert in their field. Never anyone normal. But, I’m sorry. It seems ungrateful of me to complain, doesn’t it? Especially when I have garnered some success that way, as you say. I just- I need a challenge. Do you know what that’s like, James? When you like what you’re doing, but you just need someone different to spice it up for you.”

[voxetindignatios]

“Nah, I’ll love without the ponytail for now. But visual professionalism is a myth, my friend. It’s all in the work.” Not that, in her bustier and distressed shorts, Valentina could talk. “But also, always. Life’s too short to skimp on excitement. Don’t you agree?”

[opulcntia-blog]

“That may be true, but conducting oneself with a particular image doesn’t help. Isn’t that why they tell you to dress for the job you want?” Candice wrinkled her nose in distaste. “While it would be preferable for people to be judged by what they produce, I still can’t wear whatever I want to network meetings.” She shrugged at Valentina’s last statement. “I suppose my answer would depend on what you consider excitement, but yes, life is infinitely better when it’s not boring.”

[fullblownlegend-blog]

“My heart never lies, I can assure you it speaks nothing but the truth. Completely, utterly, without fail my heart, the thing that sustains my life force, is objective. Why ever would it not be?”

[opulcntia-blog]

“Right. You might want to leave the sarcasm to me, in the future.”

[griffithsbarbs-blog]

      “What?” Barbara reached up to touch her hair, brows furrowing. “Uh, sure, I suppose. How bad is it?”

[opulcntia-blog]

Candice smiled as she started to tug at the other woman’s hair. “Maybe it’s better you don’t know,” she remarked. “Your bangs are a bit... all over the place. Do you want a mirror?”

[antigonick]

Her smile, I’m sure, burnt Rome to the ground.

Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves (via henrydear)

[fullblownlegend-blog]

“Do you take enjoyment out of crushing the egos of men? Well, I’m glad to see you aren’t totally blind, although I’ve earnt a bit higher praise than ‘decent’ and ‘nice’. I can accept 87%, though, only because I know in my heart I’m really a solid 100%.”

[opulcntia-blog]

“No. Not really. Yes. Oh, yes, as long as your heart can be trusted to tell you the truth and isn’t biased in any way.”

[juliabergesxx-blog]

Visit Original Link

[trcmulousarchive-blog]

No, Luke wasn’t alright. Social interactions weren’t always a struggle for him, not like they used to be, but when backed into a corner like this by someone who had that sharp edge to their tone and judgment in their eyes, Luke cowered back into his small space. He didn’t answer her question, his lip curling tight into his mouth as his shoulders squared, nodding to her words and answering her second inquiry with a meek, “I’m eighteen. And I’ll make sure that I can take care of it myself next time…” It wasn’t as if he had asked her to fix his hair. 

[opulcntia-blog]

Tutting under her breath, Candice heaved an exhausted, put-upon sigh. And once again, it fell to her to take pity on someone who shouldn’t have needed it. “No need to assume the fetal position, okay?” she said bluntly, resisting the overwhelming urge to roll her eyes. “I’m not judging you.” Lie. “I’m just trying to help. You seem like a smart young man; you know most people are going to take you at your first impression. Whatever you do, you have to make sure that it’s the best one you can give, alright?”

[chaserrose-blog]

“I suppose that’s sort of the argument between nature versus nurture. Am I who I am because my genes dictate who I am, or am I who I am because of those eyeballs focused on me? I think, to put it simply, I would be different. Had my parents not be such a central part to everything–I think maybe I wouldn’t have found it necessary to try as hard with everything, or bother rebelling, or maybe I wouldn’t even have been a professional Quidditch player. I think many aspects of me would still be there, but I’d say, without that specific influence, something would be lost in translation. Is this the part where I start thanking the Prophet?”

[opulcntia-blog]

“I don’t know if I’d go quite that far, but yes, it’s undeniable that the media has had a sizable hand in your upbringing. But if you’re happy with your life and how you’ve turned out, that might not be such a bad thing. Being in the public eye can be exhausting, but it teaches you valuable skills in return. You seem like a sweet girl, I’m sure your friends and family wouldn’t want you to change.”

[zachzabsarchive-blog]

“Candino sounds better, more Italian. Funny how that works, right? My father tends to do the same thing, though you are a media personality. Making appearances can only help you out, help you snatch up some guests. Nonna is still wicked as fuck. Still dominating the winery scene and tearing down men. A true inspiration to us all.”

[opulcntia-blog]

“Okay, fine, but I’m still not even the slightest bit Italian, so my confusion over that nickname continues to be justified. That is true, but there’s no one making any particular splash in the media lately. Everyone’s too caught up in this election, and, of course, I’d just have the stupid candidates on, but that opens both the network and I to political commentary that, honestly, I couldn’t care less about. Awww, give her my love. I’d also send a bottle of wine, but she’d criticize my taste, so maybe not.”