[ ... ] cool wind in my hair.

[plaalacking]

marlowe  dench  ;  pilates  instructor  and  masseuse  at  cove  wellness  center.  animal  lover.  alien  believer.  as  peculiar  and  weird  as  endearing.  heart  of  gold,  dumb  of  ass.  impulsive  queen.  palmview  grove's  very  own  phoebe  buffay  reincarnated.

— intro. visuals. ism. main.

[strynights]

mateo had been about to call it an early night, he did that when nights were so slow not even tumbleweeds rolled by. he was lazily leaning his chin in the palm of his hand, slipping through the same magazine he’s been flipping through for four months now, about to doze off when he heard the familiar chime of the laundry doorbell ring. “wel-…” he barely had a second to lazily greet them when he heard marlowe’s familiar voice first, immediately he stepped into action at her SOS. “ah, shit!” he laughed as he slid/dived to keep the basket from completely tumbling over, but in the process he ends up half on the floor with one arm extended up to hold it in place. “hey,” he grinned up at her, “how’s it going? by the way, the washing machine and dryer third down is busted. i keep telling the maintenance man, buuut he’s too busy lounging around on the floor, helping pretty girls from laundry catastrophes.”

[plaalacking]

soft  features  split  into  a  booming  laughter  at  the  sight  of  mateo  sprawled  across  the  floor,  supporting  her  laundry  basket  from  completely  collapsing.  “  are  you  okay?  ”  she  manages  to  say  between  fits  of  hearty  chuckles.  she  hops  on  the  place  to  better  grasp  the  basket,  trying  to  free  mateo  from  his  place  on  the  floor.  somehow  manages  to  grasp  the  ears  of  the  rattan  thing  and  with  a  heavy  grunt  places  it  on  the  floor.  right  next  to  him. 

still  smiling  widely,  marlowe  scrambles  to  help  him  up.  rather  than  extending  her  hand,  she  bends  down  to  grasp  him  by  his  shirt  and  arm  and  armpit  and  tugs  with  a  grunt.  “  the  maintenance  man  needs  to  help  me  or  he's  going  to  be  lounging  on  the  floor  forever.  become  one  with  the  tiles  and  then  he  will  be  known  not  as  the  maintenance  man,  but  as  the  tile  man.  forever  merged  with  this  place.  ”

[mxdnxghtvellxchor]

Theo was in the middle of texting with his brother by the time Marlowe came out. In the short amount of time he'd spent with her, he'd definitely taken notice of her personal style, and would be the first to admit she could rock just about any color. But the purple slip dress she wore now was definitely doing something to him. Add in her choice of jewelry, and she was completely… Marlowe.

When she plopped down beside him, their thighs touching, he nudged his lightly against hers before glancing at his phone. "No, I'm not tinder-ing." He laughed, locking his screen. "I'm texting my brother. My parents are apparently trying to get a head start on their Thanksgiving plans." He rolled his eyes. "As if they haven't got another four months to figure it out." While his family visited him over the last few years, Theo hadn't made the trip to see them since he left; they were hoping he would spend the holidays with them this year.

[plaalacking]

“  so  why  are  you  locking  your  screen?  suspicious.  ”  she  squints  her  eyes  at  him  lightly  before  her  glossy  lips  split  into  a  cheshire  grin.  “  kidding!  not  suspicious  and  even  if  it  was,  i  mean  you  obviously  can  do  whatever  you  want  to  !  it's  not  like,"  she  waves  a  dismissive  hand  between  them,  "  anyway,  i'm  just  teasing.  ”  unsure  if  she  should  explain,  marlowe  decides  to  over  explain  instead.  “  i  don't  know  if  you  noticed,  but  i  tease  a  lot.  if  you  aren't  comfortable  with  it,  please  tell  me,  i'll  stop  immediately.  ”  her  face  is  gravely  serious  to  get  the  message  across.  she'd  hate  to  make  theo  uncomfortable  even  before  their  date  (  is  it  a  date?  she  has  no  idea  )  begins. 

she  nudges  him  back  with  her  thigh,  then  shifts  even  closer  so  the  distance  between  their  bodies  is  almost  non-existent.  “  you  look  nice.  ”  a  soft  smile  graces  her  features,  “  nice  and  cute.  ”  this  time  she's  smiling  widely.  “  and  talking  about  thanksgiving  in  summer  is  …  interesting.  ”  weird  would  be  the  right  word,  but  marlowe  refrains  from  saying  so.  everyone's  weird,  everyone  has  their  own  little  quirks.

“  hey,  can  i  ask  you  something  before  we  go? feel free to say no,  ”  sits  further  away,  breaking  off  the  closeness  between  them.  “  can  you  take  off  your  pants?  it's  for  science,  ”  a  beat.  “  and  my  friend  willow.  ”

[skulldome]

liberty's  always  been  one  to  make  up  her  mind  about  things  regardless  of  what  the  others  think;  marlowe  is  no  different.  the  group's  reaction  to  sage's  new  belle  has  been  mixed.  she's  definitely  going  to  end  up  being  a  subject  at  their  next  house  meeting.  so  when  liberty  stumbles  across  marlowe  and  sage  napping  in  the  living  room,  she  initially  tucks  herself  back  into  her  room,  not  wanting  to  invade  their  privacy.  that  is  until  a  rumbling  in  her  tummy  defeated  her.  hearing  noise  in  the  kitchen,  she  takes  it  as  her  opportunity  to  go  ransack  the  cabinets  for  the  furious  dog  in  her  stomach.  “hey,  marlowe.  i'm  libs.”  upon  taking  in  her  disheveled  form,  she  has  to  choke  back  a  laugh,  an  equally  amused  smirk  taking  its  place.  “have  a  good  nap?”

[plaalacking]

she  drinks  her  water  slowly,  letting  her  sore  post-nap  throat  adjust  to  the  sensation  that's  a  good  glass  of  crispy  water.  having  no  idea  how  she  currently  look,  marlowe  mistakes  liberty's  smirk  for  a  polite  little  thing  than  anything  else.  “  hi  libs,  nice  to  meet  you.  ”  she  gives  a  little  wave  rather  than  extending  her  hand.  her  palms  too  clammy  from  taking  nap  in  the  stuffy  living  room  without  cracking  the  window  open  or  creating  a  draft  that  would  bring  nice  refreshing  breeze.  “  i  hope  it's  okay  i  used  this  glass,  ”  raises  said  glass  slightly  to  the  air  before  continuing,  “  sage  usually  gives  me  glasses  i  can  use,  but  i  didn't  want  to  wake  them  up  just  yet.  he  looks  like  a  little  cutie  slumbering  away.  ”  a  soft  squeals  as  she  thinks  of  sage's  form  peacefully  in  dream  land.  then  quickly  continues.  “  i  like  your  shirt!  ”

[mxdnxghtvellxchor]

Theo let out an incredulous laugh, looking over at Marlowe as she rattled off one question after another. "Okay, first of all," he started, holding up a finger, "if you try to pick me up, there's about a ninety percent chance we both end up on the ground."

He started toward the bench at an easy pace, taking his time without drawing attention. "I promise, I'm fine." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "I just figured we'd hit pause for a minute." His eyes drifted toward the river, then the people walking through the square. "We've been walking for hours, and I'm pretty sure Paris has agreed to stay exactly where it is until we're ready." Until he's ready; he's pretty sure Marlowe is the energizer bunny reincarnated.

Once he reached the bench, he dropped onto it with a relieved sigh, stretching his legs out in front of him. "There." He spread his arms dramatically. "Now we can pretend we're mysterious locals judging the tourists that walks by."

[plaalacking]

marlowe  fakes  an  offense,  hand  clutching  her  imaginary  pearls  on  her  chest.  “  excuse  you,  theodore.  i  know  how  to  pick  up  a  jock.  ”  the  innuendo  in  there  makes  her  crack  into  a  smile,  deft  fingers  wrapping  around  his  wrist  and  tugging  him  towards  the  parisian  bench.  even  the  benches  in  paris  look  different. 

her  stride  is  far  quicker  than  his,  but  marlowe  makes  the  effort  (  truly,  an  effort  )  to  slow  down  for  his  sake,  palm  sliding  down  into  his  own.  she  doesn't  think much  of  it,  holding  hands,  as  it's  something  she  does  quite  often  with  people  she's  close  with.  doesn't  even  think  to  ask  him  if  he’s  comfortable.  “  okay,  but  we're  missing  SO  much.  ”  she  exaggerates  the  last  words,  but  the  corners  of  her  lips  quirk  up  into  a  smile.

when  theo  plops  down  on  the  bench,  she  lets  go  off  his  hand  and  stays  standing  like  a  guard  dog  above  him.  a  chihuahua.  checks  him  out  very  notably  —  his  long  legs,  his  muscles  bulging  from  underneath  the  shirt  …  then she rolls  her  eyes  playfully.  “  sure.  we definitely look like locals.  ”  teasing  tone  colors  her  voice.  “  feel  better  grandpa?  ”

[pinetreesandhoneybees]

[devotedgrls]

everyone says they like weird girls until weird girls act like a weird girl

[glowcowboy]

without arts & crafts we are in hell

[plaalacking]

google doc for more here !

[ … ] ❀ you’re not from around here , are you? i figured because you totally just missed { MARLOWE DENCH } walking by. don’t tell me you don’t know who { SHE } is ? they kind of look like { MIKA ABDALLA } and i could be wrong but i think that they might be { 27 } years old right now. they’ve been living in palmview for the last { MONTH }. and i don’t know if anyone has ever told them this before but they kind of remind me of { PHOEBE BUFFAY } from { FRIENDS }. if you stick around the town long enough you might catch them in action working at { COVE WELLNESS CENTER } as a { PILATES INSTRUCTOR/MASSEUSE }. you see this town isn’t really that big of a place, some folks like to call them the { FREE-SPIRITED } of palmview! they took a liking to the name too after a while, go figure. oh crap, they must have heard me yapping. they’re coming this way. i got to warn you though, rumor has it they can pretty { UNPREDICTABLE } at times. i wouldn’t take it too seriously though, from the times i’ve spoken to them they seemed pretty { OPTIMISTIC } to me. we see each other all the time since they live in that { HOUSE #124 } residence beside me over in { BAYPOINT COAST }. i better leave you to it. it was nice meeting you! 

[snnydaze]

xio was a patient person. historically so. losing her cool was just something that only happened on the rarest of occasions. ...until marlowe. for some reason, the woman just knew exactly how to get under her skin, like pissing her off was her mission - and maybe it was. it'd be easier, wouldn't it, if xio was the one to snap and blow everything up, so marlowe didn't get the blame for tearing the band apart? the worst part? it was working. hard as she might try to ignore, to play nice, she had a limit - and the alcohol currently swimming around in her system probably didn't help.

"my reason for not liking you has nothing to do with sage, and whatever you think is going on there." xio retorts, under her breath, but loud enough for marlowe to hear. "you accomplished that all on your own, actually. don't let a guy take credit for all your hard work, now. come on, babe." this isn't her. she hates the bitterness in her own tone, but this band - and her friends in it, are important to her, worth protecting -- and, maybe those attempts at trying to become a psychic back in high school hadn't really panned out, but the future seems so clear to her now - and she doesn't like the look of it.

[plaalacking]

the  yoko  comment  is  in  the  back  in  her  head,  buried  but  not  too  deep,  knocking  on  the  front  of  her  brain  everytime  she  sees  xio.  which  isn't  a  lot,  but  maybe  more  often  than  she's  comfortable  with.  marlowe  still  doesn't  see  how  she's  breaking  the  band  apart  -  thinks  that  her  reaction  is  adequate  (  or,  sometimes,  she  thinks  she  should  actually  overreact  more  ). 

the  bitterness  in  xio's  voice  takes  her  aback,  reinforcing  her  belief.  xio  is  in  love  with  sage.  she  knew  it  !  she  knew  it  !  shakes  off  the  initial  shock,  dark  brows  furrow  together.  “  i  think  you're  madly  in  love  with  him  and  that's  the  issue.  ”  shifts  her  weight  from  one  leg  to  another,  feeling  like  a  deer  caught  in  headlights.  “  w-well,  ”  voice  cracks,  marlows  clears  her  throat  to  continue,  “  i  only  asked  you  a  couple  of  questions  and  ever  since  you  have  been  ….  "  what  xio  is  stays  unsaid.  despite  being  drunk  and  high,  marlowe  isn't  so  far  gone  to  say  ‘bitch’  outright. 

“  i  believe  my  worries  are  like  sensible.  i'd  like  to  be  serious  with  sage,  but  your  weird  sex  cult  and  your  obvious  crush  turned  resentment  doesn't  make  it  easy.  i  don't  understand  how  i  am  the  wrong  one  in  all  of  this  !  if  sage  wanted  to  date  you,  they  would  !  ”  ah,  there  it  is.  marlowe  can  raise  her  voice  after  all.

[br1llare]

         “ no no no. i’m here as your cheerleader, your moral support. ” quinn reminds marlowe while they look for the proper signs for the writing workshop. he’s inwardly wondering why the admin assistant of parks and rec didn’t mention any of the current fun workshops and programs they curated for pride month. “ which arrow — whoa — ” he starts, finding himself trailing after marlowe as she zips forward. it takes him one long stride to catch up to her, and they’re walking briskly to one of the conference rooms. laughing when marlowe calls him a hippie, quinn shakes his head in amusement but doesn’t argue. “ those double doors? ” he spots the rainbow printout and glances at marlowe. “ i feel like i’m walking into a trap now. ” half joking, half serious, quinn peeks his head inside the room and then pulls back, looking down at marlowe and trying not to laugh. “ you totally owe me. ”

[plaalacking]

a  whine  escapes  her  parted  lips  immediately  upon  quinn  finishing  his  sentence.   “  nooooooooooo,  I  need  your  jock  brain  for  ideas.  quinnie,  please!  ”  a  nickname  she  hasn't  used  in  a  long  time,  only  when  she  really  wants  something  from  him.  and  that  something  is  his  brain.  as  much  as  quinn  loves  to  pretend  being  a  complete  himbo,  marlowe  knows  there's  a  brain  underneath  those  thick,  juicy  curls.  and  she  needs  to  pick  that  brain  apart  for  good  lgbt+  story  ideas.  “  they're  nerds,  they  aren't  going  to  eat  you.  ”  playfully  rolls  her  big  doe  eyes.  “  unless  you  want  them  to.  ”  finished  with  a  wink  and  a  flash  of  a  confident  grin.  marlowe  watches  him  ducking  in  and  out  of  the  room,  eyes  round  and  wide,  looking  up  at  him  expectantly  -  wondering  what  he  saw  and  what  not  and  -  “  you  can  name  your  prize  after  the  workship  …  and  after  you  help  toss  in  a  few  ideas  for  my  story.  ”  with  that  final  word,  she  drags  him  inside.  they  practically  buldoze  through  the  door.

“  hi!  we're  here  for  the  writing  workshop!  ”  marlowe  beams  at  the  room  full  of  people,  looking  at  them,  palm  raised  in  a  greeting.  the  instructor  shows  them  where  to  sit  and  marlowe  drags  quinn  around  like  a  ragdoll.  they're  sitting  behind  a  laptop.  she  whispers,  “  are  you  ready,  hockey  man?  ”

[castielchitaqua]

im never serious but I always mean it

[sullyvane]

"sorry." sully mumbles, being a little more careful with his movements now so he doesn't accidentally wind up giving marlowe a concussion, and, as daintily as he can, sets her down on a pile of exercise mats. "wait, are you rich? because maybe that could work out in my favor. i didn't sign a prenup or anything. should we go back through, try it again?" he laughs, and sits down on the floor beside marlowe, looking up to meet her eyes as he scoots in a little closer. "was wondering when you'd finally take me up on this."

[plaalacking]

sully's  daintily  manhandling  isn't  as  dainty  as  marlowe'd  expect,  but  despite  being  three  apples  tall,  she's  a  sturdy  girl.  even  if  he's  whacked  her  head  against  the  door  frame,  she'd  walk  it  off  in  no  time.  settles  on  the  pile  of  exercise  mats  as  if  that  was  her  throne.  “  no,  i  don't  believe  in  people  owning  so  much  money  they're  classified  rich.  why  would  they  have  that  much  money,  but  other  people  are  starving?  ”  it's  a  rhetorical  questions  she  doesn't  expect  answers  to.  reaches  out  to  pet  his  biceps,  squeezing  the  muscle  a  little  with  a  sultry  look  on  her  face.  “  wait  here.  ”  she  abruptly  gets  up  from  her  throne  and  walks  towards  the  door,  closing  it.  then,  ever  so  inconspicuously  takes  out  the  key  from  her  pocket,  locks  the  door  and  hides  it  into  her  bra.  she  turns  around,  beaming.  “  so  no  one  can  interrupt  us.  ”  as  she  settles  back  once  again,  this  time  her  hand  lands  on  his  upper  thigh.  “  so  tell  me.  ”  a  beat,  marlowe  licks  her  lower  lip.  “  do  you  need  professional  help?  ”

[femininomencn]

open starter / @palmviewstarters !

WHERE • brush to canvas.

WHO • julianna zhong & your muse.

as julianna’s deep brown gaze practically bore a hole in the blank white canvas in front of her, she couldn’t for the life of her conjure up any ideas for her artwork, internally cursing the teacher for choosing freestyle as the session’s theme.

“gosh, i’m stumped.” she admitted in borderline defeat before turning to the person next to her. “have you got any ideas? my brain is not cooperating with me tonight.”

[plaalacking]

marlowe  thrives  in  a  free,  uncontrolled  enviroment  so  it  isn't  a  surprise  she's  already  started.  her  canvas  is  a  mirror  of  herself  ;  earthy  colors  mixed  with  pastels  and  bright  splashes  in  seemingly  random  places.  but  she  has  an  endgame  in  mind  despite  how  wild  her  painting  currently  appears  to  be.  muscles  contract  and  tighten  and  jolt  when  julianna  speaks,  Marlowe  being  too  deep  in  her  thoughts  to  expect  so.  she  rolls  her  shoulders,  shaking  the  fight-or-flight  response  away.

then  shuffles  closer  to  the  other  woman,  staring  at  her  blank  canvas.  “  you  could  paint  E.T  the  alien.  do  you  know  that  movie?  ”  a  human,  marlowe  allows  the  ideas  to  flow.  “  or  lovers  in  embrace  or  animals  cuddling  or  eating  with  rainbow  behind  them  for  pride  month.  ”  a  beat.  “  or  just  paint  an  apple.  a  really  juice  one.  ”

[vintage-tigre]

Illustration by Lily Seika Jones

[santa-ana-winds]

[mollybeenoel]