TESSA RHODES. TWENTY ONE. " Take me around the world, and back again. As I'm searching for my soul out there, you know there's something I've been wondering? Where I'm going when my story ends?" roleplay blog for Eden's Town
Since the party, Art was left feeling some type of way that he couldn’t exactly explain. It felt weird being the only one who had gone to it solo, but it felt even weirder knowing that Lu had stayed the night there with Dom. He was looking for some type of distraction from having to identify his feelings, which was how he’d found his way down to Tappin’ Boots in the first place, even though he rarely frequented the bar when he had more fun drinking at home and playing video games with friends – friends who all had their own shit going on right now.
As he rounded the corner, he bumped into another body and quickly reached out to grab hold of their arms to help steady them. “Shit, nah, I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t walk so quietly,” he replied with a laugh and a shake of his head before he looked at the woman, realizing who it was, and a grin coming across his face. “Tessa! I didn’t know you were working tonight. That makes this trip so much more worth it. You should totally give me your undivided attention instead of your phone because I’m obviously much more interesting.”
Once Tessa realized the body she bumped into it, she was a little surprised. It’d been a while since she’d last seen Art, and in all reality they didn’t always hang around the same people -- Tucker, and Dom was the common ground for them. “I am, which I think is kinda whack since they’ve got too many people on shift. For some reason the bar is packed tonight.”, her head averted to look back at the entrance in dismay; she shook it before turning back to Arturo. “I think I can maybe come to believe that since my timeline is pretty much blank at the moment, nothing but childhood photos, and weird goat memes?”, her face scrunched in confusion, her tone even more confused. Her posture was now relaxed, as she wasn’t too avoidant of the man before her, Art wasn’t too bad.
“Why were you going into the bar anyway? Especially on a week day? Most of the time my patrons come into the bar on a week day due to relationship issues, friend issues, work issues, or just issues...”, she joked, letting this amused chuckle fall out with a shrug as followed. “I get off work in an hour, this is just my mandated thirty minute break. Ya know all that state law stuff?”, her tone laced with sarcasm. What harm could it do to offer her attention to Arturo for a minute or so?
With everything going on in her life, Ella needed a night to just release it all, to find remnants of the person she had been before she had returned home. Not that she was lamenting but she was back to feeling like she had no control, like no matter how much she tried something else would go wrong. Still, she was grateful for the good things that had happened, for the baby being healthy, for she and Evie being strong, for Anna’s admission and acceptance of what was happening. But Ella needed a moment to breath, to separate herself from teh chaos. Which was how she had found herself at Tappin’ Boots with a few party friends, throwing back shots as they caught up on the holiday chaos and boosted their instagram feed. She had indulged herself in a few hits of her weed pen and a few bites of a cannabis cookie her friend had made, wanting to get fucked up but not too fucked up. And eventually she just needed to smoke, to feel more of a release and to put the drunken fuzziness in her head to rest.
She had been looking down at the floor careful not to slip on any spilled drinks when she bumped into Tessa, offering her own apology before letting out a laugh. “Shit, sorry Tess, I’m like in my own world right now,” she told her the younger woman. She didn’t know her well, aside from the fact that before she had come back to town the last time she had seen her she was basically a kid. There was nothing that made her feel older than seeing Lu, Art and all the kids their age as whole adults now. She had just turned 31 and she still felt like a kid. “I wasn’t looking either so no worries. I was gonna head out for a smoke if you want to join me, this place is feeling fuckingstuffed right now.” She took in a deep breath, her expression a bit more relaxed because of her intoxication.
Bumping into Ella was a blast from the past, she remembered her from when she was younger -- but it was hard to connect. Mostly due to her disconnect from life as she entered her teenage rebellion. “No, that was my fault. Millenial shit, right?”, she teased. “Might as well, they said they needed me in there, but we’ve got what it seems like five to ten employees already on staff today. He can’t really fault me for taking my thirty minute break early.”, Tessa wanted to care about the situation inside, but in all reality she didn’t. Most would’ve told her to trade in her job for something other than that, if she really despised it as much as the energy she gave off told the world -- but the pay was good, and its what she needed.
Tessa pulled Ella over to the side of the building, where not many could really see the happenings, with the cup still in her hand. Ella was one person in Eden’s Tessa truly didn’t mind due to her calm energy at almost any given time, of course it was probably because of the smoke, and intoxication nine times out of ten, but that’s also why she enjoyed her company. One of the more relaxed, and lienient adults in Eden’s. She said ‘adults’ like she wasn’t legally one herself now, but that’s how most over the age of thirty five referred to her. It didn’t bother her, now she didn’t have to explain herself when a cup full of vodka occupied her palm. “How ya been, El?” she wondered, her expression gentle and almost curious.
Only a ten minute break? The place was packed, and though Tessa could understand needing the help, she also wasn’t the only employee on the job today. With full disclosure, she worked herself to the bone to be able to afford the run-down apartment she owned in Ashford, that’s how crazy it was. What was the point of a full time gig if the perks didn’t pay the bills? Tessa wasn’t enthusiastic about the job, but she still put on a nice smile, and kind eyes when anyone walked in -- she knew her boss would end up chewing her head off otherwise. Everyone who was an Eden’s native knew Tessa wasn’t the socializing type normally, they’d seen the changes she had gone through over the years after her family’s news broke. It was also what she was trying to avoid.
As Tessa scrolled through her timeline on her phone, she began taking sips of a plastic cup she’d had in her palm. Water, but anybody passing by knowing Tessa could easily assume she was getting happy hour started a few hours earlier. Especially since the bartender was barely paying attention to her surroundings when she’d accidentally knocked into another as they were passing by, immediately she gripped the water in one palm; held out her free hand to catch the other just in case she’d tripped them. “Whoa! I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was paying too much attention to my phone, though there’s not really anything interesting on the damn thing... so.”. Finally, she’d nestled her phone into her back pocket, offering an awkward sympathetic smile.
“Does this look any good? It can’t look too over-the-place.” She asked the person nearby, flashing them a Christmas themed ballet tutu, with hues of green, white and red. “I think there’s too much glitter,” she laughed, hoping the other would give her some feedback. “You know,” Vivi began to ramble, “my students need something Christmas-y to wear this December.. we have a special dance coming and I need everything to look perfect. Otherwise, these middle-aged moms will kill me. They’ll be like.. ‘Karen, didn’t you see what Vivienne picked for our girls?’“ She mocked an obnoxious voice, rolling her eyes, followed by a genuine laugh. “You know.. I never thought the worst part of working with children and teenagers would be the moms themselves.” Vivienne confessed.
Having been cooped up in the house for what it seemed like weeks -- aside from work, and the occasional visit with her brother -- Tessa knew she needed to leave the house. It wasn’t like her to enter a clothing store of all places, but she figured why not? Whats the most harm it could do, until she realized she was in an unpexted conversation with a stranger about their job at the local school. Tessa cleared her throat as she listened to the ramblings of the stranger, giggling just a tad when she’d obnoxiously mocked the parents of the students she was trying so hard to please. Almost sounded like Tessa on a bad day at work, which wasn’t often since she knew how to handle her customers now. “I think, you could definitely cut down on the glitter... I won’t lie, but don’t take my advice too much,” Tessa scrunched her lips “I don’t like glitter at all, so.” She finished before, “Are the moms really that bad? Almost like the moms never grew up?”, she questioned, now interested in this random inquiry.
After seeing how the game of truth or dare was unravelling Maya had made a sharp exit, darting into the next unoccupied room she could find - which at a party of this size, was almost impossible and too many times she had been the unfortunate witness of people hooking up. She had entered what she assumed was another guest bedroom and spotted what appeared to be a drinks cabinet tucked away in the corner and she gravitated towards in instantly. Amongst the clinking of bottles, Maya had heard the door open but she didn’t greet them until she emerged proudly with a bottle of expensive whiskey. “Are you here to escape the tacky party games too?” she poured herself a drink before glancing upwards, “you want one too?”
Was this really the event she wanted to be attending? Not even in the slightest -- Tessa would’ve rather had been at home watching something she could’ve easily gone to the theater to see, but home in her fleece blanket seemed the most comfortable. It wasn’t that the young Rhodes didn’t appreciate the invite, but she was peering around the house and all she could see were new faces that decided to settle down in Eden’s. Not her favorite part, as she was trying to escape Eden’s Town, but it would be fine as long as she kept her distance. She snuck into what she thought was an unoccupied room before coming to a complete hault once the door had been shut. The joke tickled Tessa in a way, nodding once at the other with the bottle of whiskey tightly grasped in her palm. “You know what? I’d love one.”
Location: a random street in Ashford.
Open: anyone, @edtstarter
Nicholas groaned looking around the almost deserted street in Ashford; he’d gotten lost about a block over and was walking aimlessly around hoping his destination would appear like some mythical beast; as illogical as that sounded; with no cell reception; he didn’t really have a choice at this point. “This is what you get for moving to freaking nowhere,” he muttered to himself. He looked down at the address typed on his screen; if he stood there any longer, he was going to miss this interview. Not a good look seeing as he’d just started a new job.
“Hi,” he said, stepping in front of the first person he made eye contact with; “you couldn’t possibly give me directions right?”
It seemed like years had passed everytime Tessa completed a shift at Tappin’ Boots, it wasn’t like she didn’t enjoy the job; it just wasn’t her first choice of anything she wanted to do in life. As she was strolling down the streets of Ashford, she noticed a male sillouhette ahead of her, just wandering. The light from the nearby patron’s phone lit up their face, which helped to confirm it was an actual human being and not some furociously big animal visiting Ashford at this time a night.
As Tessa drew closer to the other, she wasn’t sure if it was so much a good idea to approach. ‘Why would you approach a strange man on the street at this time of night?’, she thought to herself. Eden’s was a small town, but that didn’t mean a thing. Whispers, locked doors, secrets -- in all reality Tessa had a few of her own she didn’t much want to admit to. As soon as her eyes locked onto the other, she froze in place “Um, where ya tryin’ to go? Bar? Movies?” she quizzed the stranger. It wasn’t like her to talk to newcomers, but she was here now.
There’s something in the water, I don’t like the flavor or the taste...
hello to everybody, this is my new baby Tessa Rhodes, my name’s Shy, and I’m really excited to be a part of Eden’s Town, I’ve got a lot of ideas for my little stubborn, sassy cupcake here, and can’t wait to connect and write with all of you and your muses. below is a little information about her, and some plots i’m on the lookout for:
she is twenty one, ( her birthday is July 5th )
she’s lived in eden’s town her entire life..... not happy about it either.
she’s the little sister to tucker rhodes, and big sister to tyler rhodes. also unaware her dads an ass and had another child.
she was extremely close to her dad until his drama became public news, so now she tries really hard to steer clear of her family’s “legacy”, and is really trying to create her own in some sense. so really she’s trying to find herself currently.
she’s a dancer but she stopped dancing when she was eighteen, she had gotten a scholarship to NYU (never told anybody) , but she loves her family too much soooooo she decided to stay in eden’s town, and she fully regrets it.
because she moved out of her parents house the first chance she got, she got a full time job bartending, but that doesn’t really cover her bills either so, she’s a stripper just on the outskirts of town under an alias, and wears wigs to hide her identity so she doesn’t scar her brother ya know. which also allows her dancer background to come in handy, but the stripping helps with income.
she was a very optimistic person at one point, had an easy time with friendships, and general people skills, but since her dads news broke about his bank business she’s turned a little cold, and has a harder time connecting to people that aren’t her brother, or friends she had since before everything happened. she puts on a front for bar patrons and strip joint patrons as well, to help her earn a little extra cash.
she’s the type that even when struggling, she won’t ask for help because she’s determined to prove to her family she can make it on her own, even though she’s struggling real bad. she also went through a brief rebellious phase between ages 15-19 where she was constantly going to parties, staying out with people she shouldn’t be, and just overall getting into a bunch of mess.
i’m looking for so many connections for my sassy pouty queen here, so if you have any questions just let me know!
childhood friends/childhood best friend
former/current fwb’s
coworkers (for the bar and the strip joint)
exes (love me some angsty complicated relationships)
dancing friends (from when she used to dance)
i’m already out of ideas don’t hate me but if you want to plot with tessa in any other way just hmu and let me know!
snowghoul
jbbartram-illu
kianamaiart
janainaart
andulkaphoto
izzy806
