button nose scrunches as sharp eyes look them up and down ; not hiding the disgust so easily readable from her features. " you really had nothing else in your wardrobe? " a rhetorical question she doesn't expect, nor want, an answer for. a saccharine fake smile pulls at the corner of her glossy lips. " cheap clothes aren't the issue, just - " a nonchalant shrug. " i guess good taste is hard to acquire. " and to add sweetness, to spin her words, banu continues: " not that you look bad, but there's just a lot of potential you aren't taking advantage of. "
doe-like eyes traveled from the street ahead to the attire she had willingly left her home in: paint splattered overalls she herself had embroidered with flowers, the same old top adelaide wore every time muse stroke and a pair of sneakers— the artist could only conceide with the flawless-looking woman dissecting her image. "do i really look like a mess?" she chuckled as blush began to spread through her neck. "laundry day" adelaide explained, not like her her day to day was too different from what she was wearing at the moment. "day off, wanted to paint but i ran out of wine and yes, they go hand in hand" a pause. "are you into fashion? you look out of the runway so maybe i should listen to you."
location : Maple's Books, evening during a weekday
Dallas knew he did not look like someone who enjoyed a good book and it always surprised him whenever a person made a comment about it. hearing it always made him laugh and wondered if he did look out of place as he made his way through the aisles trying to find the next series he was going to lose himself in. as he stopped to see which caught his eye, he sensed someone nearby. "take a picture, it'll last longer." he quipped before grabbing a book, "i don't know if i should be flattered for the stare or if you think i am all muscle don't know how to read."
brown eyes scanned maple's books stands in search of a title in particular, brow furrowed in concentration at the 'business' section displayed, already regretting her purchase, wondering if going into college at her late thirties was even worth pursuing in the first place. to stop herself from getting a migraine from reading small titles and even smaller and deceptive prices, the b&b owener decided to look elsewhere, the vision of dallas from her peripheral vision immediately catching her attention. wasn't strange to see him in the bookstore; most of the books she read where after all recommended by him and yet at his words she couldn't help but smirk playfully and nod in fake agreement. "always figured you were the audiobook type" she jested with a small shrug as she approached her friend "look at you breaking all stereotypes" addie smirked, nudging the other gently to convey it was all a joke. "what'cha gettin'? also— do you always go around offering pics? dangerous slope, dal."
~ °•♡ ⸻ adelaide atkins has been a resident of roseton for eleven years . around the town , the thirty-seven year old owner of the roseton house. has been given the nickname, honey . i think it's because they are resilient , but also recalcitrant .
BASICS
name: adelaide margot atkins. nickname: addie, ads, honey. date of birth: february 22nd. zodiac sign: pisces sun, sagittarius moon, aquarius rising. gender identity: cis woman (she / her). place of birth: peachtree, ga. current location: roseton, ma. time in town: eleven years. neighborhood: haze st. sexual orientation: pansexual.
labels: the southern charm, the alfresco. pos traits: resilient, allocentric, gregarious, adaptable, empathetic. neg traits: deceitful, impetous, taciturn, boisterous, recalcitrant. hobbies: painting, sculpting, sewing, gardening. languages spoken: english, french. favorite color: pink, yellow, green. favorite food: new orleans cuisine.
APPEARANCE
height: 5'8. eye color: brown. hair color: dark brown. distinguished characteristics: appendicitis surgery scar in lower stomach. tattoos: a matching tattoo with her sister; a moon with the phrase 'you keep me wild' beneath it on her forearm. piercings: ear. right or left handed: ambidextrous (was left-handed but was forced to use right from very young age and became ambidextrous as a result). faceclaim: greta onieogou.
RELATIONSHIPS
parents: edward atkins (connman & accountant, whereabouts unknown), ann atkins (nee:savoy, real estate agent, whereabouts unknown). siblings: marienne atkins. marrital status: single. children: none. pets: rescues strays and injured animals whenever she can, nurses them until they are good enough to find a new family. others: tba.
BACKGROUND
tw: child endangerment and abuse, arson & death mention.
⸻ violet was born with the summer sun shining bright on her. from the very beginning it became evident that the atkins family was only such in name. edward and ann simply weren't meant to become parents; too preoccupied chasing the life they thought they deserved and in such life, children were an imposition so from ages 0 to 7 violet spent most of her time between other members of her family and at times nannies, never quite creating a connection with any other person connected to her by blood. then, marianne atkins was born and changed everything for the better. for a little while, edward and ann decided the best way to be liked and respected was to turn into the depiction of the "american dream" so for the upcoming years they did their best to appear as the happiest family. that was, of course, until everything began crumbling down.
⸻ not long after violet's 10th birthday, edward had a downfall with his boss, ann’s father, which ultimately caused him not only his job but also ann’s relationship with her welathy family. the reason of the feud was an enigma to everyone but the three people involved yet it was talked about enough in the upper class circles in georgia. still, the atkins prevailed, with edward taking a job in the rival company of the atkins and ann supporting his every decision, their luck began to change quickly until they became a pillar on their own community.
⸻ time passed, as quickly and tracherously as venom through the veins and what once was seen as a beautiful marble sculpture of perfection, began showing its first cracks when edward was once again fired from his job however this time, the reasons had become public knowledge: as an accountant, he had been stealing money from his employers, including ann’s father. there was no legal repercussions (his employer didn’t have a clean record himself and knew better than to get his own books become public knowledge) and the atkins continued with their lives, except they now carried a stain under their family name, which later on would become their downfall.
⸻ after years of living off the money they’d swindled (since nobody would employ them due to the accusations against edward), money began to become scarce when violet hit teenagehood. after living a somewhat comfortable childhood she was suddenly struggling to meet ends and had to get a job to care for herself and her sister once her parents became more occupied trying to maintain the life they had once procured, completely ignoring their children and sometimes blaming them from their misfortunes.
⸻ the first day of her senior year in high school, violet came back to the atkins household to find her belongings out in the driveway with no explanation, a different lock on the door. she spent the first two months of her senior year couch crashing and working hard until she found a small apartment to rent. she knew it wasn’t much, a glorified storage room with a bathroom yet she worked tirelessly to turn it into a home.
⸻ violet made a plan: she would get two, three jobs until she could form a life she could offer to mari once she was old enough to fight for her sister's custody. driven by the love for her younger sister, violet worked herself thin for the next three years and on her birthday, she went to fill for her sister's custody petition. a couple weeks later, she was contacted by the authorities with an offer: they knew her parents had been involved in various crimes and they promised if she could provide any insight, proof or testimony of everything her parents had done her custody battle would be much easier and thus she decided to help the case against her parents and after months of working on the case and facing her family's wrath, marianne's custody was granted to violet. ann served one year for child endangerment while edward's sentence was longer, involving child endangerment, embezzlement and fraud. violet welcomed to their new home with open arms and a loving heart. the upcoming years as a caretaker of a teenager weren't easy but violet's love for her sister only grew with time despite their differences.
⸻ scared of their parents' retaliation, the atkins siblings fled their hometown to the place the eldest knew they would never trace them to start off fresh: new orleans where, almost upon meeting, they met the person who would change their lives forever: rosamund landry, a wealthy older woman who upon seeing them not only gave adelaide a job as her caretaker but put a roof under their heads by giving them a room in her own home and took them under her wing. the three of them spent the most perfect couple of years together, finally finding the family they had searched for their entire lives until rosamund's death, a couple months after addie's twenty-third birthday. her death caused a whirlwind of emotions in the community, with sentiments raising when it was revealed she had left everything she owned to adelaide and her sibling instead of the family she was related to by blood but hadn't seen for years.
⸻ the upcoming months were torture; with rosamund gone, her family and a big part of the community who believed the atkins siblings didn't deserve the inheritance began to harass the young sisters. adelaide nearly caved in and gave up her share of the estate and money until she talked to rosamund's lawyer who advised her against it. scared of how far the family would go and trying her best to protect her little sister, adelaide and marianne decided to once again move, choosing roseton as their new home after seeing the name on a map and feeling a pull towards it.
⸻ within a week of arriving to the new town, adelaide found a job at roseton house b&b as a maid where she got to meet incredible people she welcomed into her life with open arms and began to climb the little career ladder of the b&b until she was lucky enough to become the manager, at age 27 and three years later after the owner decided to retire, she finally put used to a fraction of the money rosamund had left for her and bought the b&b, vowing to keep the place with the exact charm the owner had worked hard to prevail. now, severak year later with newfound responsibilities and joys as a business owner, violet has decided to enroll in business school.
WANTED CONNECTIONS
⸻ muse (any gender / plat or rom)
whenever she’s stressed or just… inspiration strikes , she calls this person to either use them as a model or a human canvass . she has every line of their body engraved on her memory and she still finds them as every bit fascinating as that first day she met them and couldn’t stop thinking about them ; could spend hours painting them or on them .
⸻ goodbye my lover (any gender / rom)
sweet adelaide is a hopeless romantic. believes-in -soulmates-(platonic or otherwise)-and-love-at-first-sight kind of romantic. however, developing a relationship with her is harder than she may lead to believe. growing up, she had the responsibility of carrying for herself and her younger sister; most of her energy was focused on that and once she was grown up, her aim to become something she and her sister could be proud of monopolized her entire existence. however, and against all odds, she fell. she fell hard and deep. as life goes, things ended up not working out and adelaide was left with a heart broken and a tad of issues when it comes to making a compromise; realizing how much it hurt to truly open up and giving yourself over to someone who could as well walk away one day.
⸻ mutual/one-side crushes (any gender / rom)
ah, crushes. the chasing, the yearning, the blushing and the flirting: all stages of a crush and something adelaide hasn’t managed to completely understand even as an adult. even though the artist is not good at handling relationships (fear of commitment, family issues, you name it and it’s on the list of reasons why relationships never quite work for her), crushes are the one thing she allows herself to have. a little flirting, some fooling around with no feelings involved can’t hurt anybody, right?
⸻ family of rosamund (any gender / ant or plat)
how adelaide and her sister ended up the only benefactors of rosamund landry's entire inheritance, is a mystery to addie herself even to this day and of course, to the family rosamund left behind that she hadn't see in at least a decade. they did the atkin sister's short stay in new orleans after rosamund's passing a living hell— will they still continue to fight for what they swear is theirs? is there any members who, now as years passed by and with enough perspective can look back and perhaps see the family's actions in a different light?
⸻ 'ladies who lunch' gc (any gender / plat)
a group with two activities in common: drinking and lunching. over the years, adelaide has learn to let go and enjoy the moment instead of worrying about the future and the past, this group of people have definitely helped with that. whenever she needs a distraction from reality, they are the people she runs to.
MORE WANTED CONNECTIONS
⸻ friends, friends with benefits, possible romantic interests, enemies, neighbors, people who have worked/stay/live at the b&b… just love my baby, she will love you back!
~ °•♡ ⸻ valerie douglass has been a resident of roseton for on-and-off all her life. around the town , the thrity-four year old journalist has been given the nickname, lois lane. i think it's because they are ardent , but also domineering .
BASICS
name: valerie isabelle douglass. nickname: val, lois lane. date of birth: july 30th. zodiac sign: leo sun. gemini moon, virgo rising. gender identity: cis woman (she / her). place of birth: roseton, ma. current location: roseton, ma. time in town: on-and-off, all her life. neighborhood: rose lane. sexual orientation: pansexual.
CAREER
occupation: journalist. highest education level: mba in journalism from columbia. past projects: has written for every major paper and magazine in the country and some tv news shows from around the world. current projects: freelance journalist, vlogger.
PERSONALITY
labels: the bon-vivant, the athelophobic. pos traits: passionate, affable, meticulous, affluent, curious, cultured. neg traits: domineering, overcritical, machiavellian, overwrought. hobbies: reading, crocheting, diy projects, traveling, equestian sports. languages spoken: english, french, greek, russian, swedish. favorite color: emerald green, sky blue. favorite food: east asian cuisine.
APPEARANCE
height: 5'3. eye color: green. hair color: blonde. distinguished characteristics: n/a. tattoos: bee on inner wrist, two arrows pointing at a deer on her forearm. piercings: helix, septum. right or left handed: right-handed. faceclaim: florence pugh.
RELATIONSHIPS
parents: mitch & eleanor douglass. siblings: piper douglass, leonardo douglass, tba douglass. marrital status: married to tba. children: a two year old named willow. pets: a black cat named nova. others: tba.
BULLET POINTS
tw: illness mention.
⸻ valerie was born on a hot and chaotic august night. the hospital was strangely packed, personnel overworked and overtired, so when a nurse (after a 20+ hour shift) dropped the name tags of two babies that had been born almost at the same exact time next to each-other, no one batted an eye. It was easily fixed, no repercussions whatsoever and the babies were brought back to their parents without spending a second thought on the incident.
⸻ she had as much of a wonderful childhood as a kid could have: the douglass' were not only affluent but well-known in the small and charming roseton. alas, with the name and valerie's innate charm she was ready to make the world hers, to even have an ounce of control over her life when control was all her life lacked: the douglass' far from the perfect visions of responsibility valerie had once held them to were slowly but surely beginning to implode: distant and cold were the sentiments running wild through the family home in the very few days the father was around and not traveling for work, their mother leaving too the second he crossed the door for yet another trip with the children becoming eachother's companies.
⸻ valerie used all her drive to be what she thought she needed to be in order to be noticed; perfect in every sense of the word. the school was her kingdom, not only was she an honor roll student, cheerleader and attended as many electives as she was allowed to but she happened to be liked enough to be considered one of the popular kids, the life every little girl dreams of and every movie teaches to aspire to. reason why her own sense of disconnection from everything and everyone that cemented on the pit of her stomach from a very young age was always an strange concept to her.
⸻ upon graduation she applied to various universities and ultimately got accepted into almost every choice she made, choosing columbia as her alma mater and business as her line of studies as an ode to her family and it’s history even though she wasn’t passionate about her decision, living between new york and massachusetts. val spent her first year attempting to circumnavigate a major she despised and the expectations that relied on her as a douglass but ultimately decided to switch majors to journalism and at 23 years old she got her mba degree in journalism. it was around the time when valerie would meet who would one day become her spouse.
⸻ she began writing for an assortment of regional and independent papers and magazines; slowly but surely making a name for herself in a frustrating yet incredibly fulfilling industry. one of her works landed her an interview to the bbc so her and her partner made their very first trip together and although it was a disaster the two found a new-shared love: traveling. knowing as a freelance journalist she could work from anywhere in the world, the two decided to embark on a years-long trip around the globe, documenting each and every country they visited on video format and uploading it to youtube which ultimately led them (especially valerie) to become a "vlogger" and gaining a substantial and engaging follower base and ultimately the couple got married while on the road.
⸻ by twenty-eight and after several years living off of hotel bedrooms, the couple decided they needed some stability and thus packed their luggage one last time and moved back to roseton, valerie's hometown whom she missed dearly and two years after moving the marriage welcomed their first and ('till now) only child, willow to make their lives as perfect as they could be.
⸻ tragedy struck when valerie began feeling ill for a couple of weeks before landing in e.r, doctors doing every test possible to find the cause of her lethargy, pallor and overall sickness. after three weeks without answers spent going from the hospital to home, the results were in: pure red cell aplasia, a rare bone marrow disorder. the treatment involved getting various blood transfusions but when he family began getting tested, the results showed they weren’t compatible. the treatment continued with the help of other donors yet the doubt rose within the young mother: why wasn’t she compatible with anyone in her family?
⸻ once val was back on her feet (at least strong enough to continue with life as she knew it), the journalist decided to take a dna test; the response arrived two days later leaving her with more questions than answers when it was revealed to her that the douglass' weren’t related to her by blood. knowing everything she ever knew was a lie, val began to spiral down; barely keeping contact with her family as she was unsure of how to tell them their lives had been a lie, a hostile relationship staining the one relationship that had once meant the most to her with her spouse and even began affecting both her careers as a journalist and as a vlogger, using all her time to both care for her child and investigating what had gone wrong during that july night instead.
WANTED CONNECTION
⸻ true blue (any gender / plat)
one of the greatest pleasures in life is finding someone who knows you, could recognize you in a sea of other identical faces with just one look — and that is what a best friend is. through better or worse, through triumphs and lows, finding someone who sees you, the worst parts, and actively chooses to love you through it all is the greatest and rarest gifts life can give you.
⸻ bruises (any gender / ant or plat)
some friendships are a lot more complex than others and this? perhaps the most complex valerie herself has ever been in her life. there's adoration, gratitude and genuine love for them that knows no end yet — there's this banter between them that always gets too real, too personal. reason why their meetings are more and more scarce every time, more superficial even though their friendship is an important one for valerie. the hurt their banter brings val is invisible for others, always ready with a polite smile and a witty comeback but the truth is it bruises her in ways no one else can .
⸻ promise (any gender / ???)
no one breaks your heart more than those who you love most. the nature of this relationship is unknown: a friendship or something else that happened long ago and still lingers within them — who's to say? the truth is, the moment this ended was shattering for everyone involved. to this day, valerie still grieves what was and could've been and although she made a promise to never speak of them again, seeing the wreckage that her life has become as of lately, there is a need to reach out to the person that once meant so much to her even if it's to finally be able to say goodbye at last.
⸻ dear reader (any gender / plat or ant)
for better or worse, the pen is a mighty sword, especially when you have a platform others follow closely. what happens when you have the power to change a life with your own words, for better or for worse? and what happens then when you look behind and see the mess that your life has become since?
MORE WANTED CONNECTIONS
⸻ family friends, other familial bonds? the douglass' have been a part of roseton for decades, rivals (career-driven or simply big ole' ego-driven rivalry), childhood friends, exes (the angstier the better, fellow parents, people she met while being in the hospital?
FLORENCE PUGH
Hair styled by Hyungsun Ju, makeup by Alex Babsky and styling by Rebecca Corbin-Murray ahead of the Dracula press night, February 17th 2026
titsay
izzy806
2087
