I Wanna Scratch Your Surface.

Crush, who's got a crush? I like the way you blush. I like the way you bite.

[thegoodprofessorhill]

atticusrossi‌:

Atticus chuckles heartily as she shades his ‘friend’, “Guess I’ll tell her that. I’m not really a script consultant, but I am fond of inserting my opinion when no one asked. Maybe you know that feeling.” He’s fully teasing her now, and he can only hope that his grin and the softness in his tone convinces her that it’s just that. It’s definitely a risk even if it seems like a valid assessment, but he feels like there’s still about a 50/50 chance that she’ll be offended. “The original Gossip Girl,” he muses, folding his hands in front of him as he weighs that question with all the seriousness it deserves. “I’m definitely picturing a Socrates vibe, you know? The OG GG has to have been Greek, right?” He’s able to picture it so vividly that the ball just keeps rolling. “Maybe they went by Hermes… and now I’m definitely gonna have to look up what the Greek alphabet equivalent of ‘XOXO’ is, or it’s gonna keep me up all night.”

“Who needs editors and script consultants with friends like these.” She jokes in response to his little teasing barb, she doesn’t mind much. Not that she fosters a lofty opinion of herself, but she feels well-versed in writing to give an opinion on when something is terrible or when it’s not. She finished her drink and regards him as he muses about the question she posed. A smile playing with her lips, “Of course the stopping point would be who’s secrets would Hermes be leaking, after all the women mostly stayed locked away in that culture. But still, I’m sure everything that ever aired on the CW was ripped off something.”

[thegoodprofessorhill]

holden-alexander‌:

The female dog delighted in the attention she was receiving from Lennox. Holden was used to immediately moving the dogs away from people because Aurora especially jumped. But Lennox didn’t seem to mind at all. Nonetheless, Holden had successfully made her get down and the dog proceeded to place kisses on the woman’s wrist, leaning up to sniff her face and then lick her on the cheek. 

“Sorry about her… she’s very intelligent and knows how to behave, but chooses not to. The joy of Huskies,” he joked. He loved having them and was glad he chose to have them. They were a hilarious breed and a lot of fun. 

“No, that’s just you. I’m definitely a whiskey guy. You’re the only one who’s made drinking margaritas a good experience so far,” he laughed, remembering the times they used to hang out. A lot had gone on since then and he regretted that they’d drifted away. “What are you doing now?” he asked her. “I wouldn’t mind catching up, that is if you don’t mind these animals in your house. I could always take them back home though.”

Bear turned to him and licked him almost impatiently, like, ‘can we keep walking?’ and Holden stroked the fur on his head. “Good boy,” he said. “We’ve been walking for a couple miles. I’ve got to watch the heat–Huskies don’t do too well in the heat.”

“Hmm.” She muses as she looks at the dogs, smiling and reaching her hand out to give Aurora some more affection. It’s easy to fall back into step with Holden, and whereas normally she wouldn’t bother herself with a friend who’d fallen out of touch, the huskies are helping him out.

“I suppose you could save some of my students from my unyielding wrath.” She muses thoughtfully, her students had been turning in concepts for the writings they would do for the entire semester. For some, this was a way to have a professional edit the book they’d been dying to write. For others, who didn’t have a plan, it was hell on earth. “And save me from the migraine a few of them are wishing to give me.”

“I have a yard with shade and space, why don’t you bring them over and we can catch up.”

[thegoodprofessorhill]

temp-orary-reyes‌:

“Refill?” they ask, motioning to the drink. “Some musicians don’t believe that. Y’know, I’ve got the best taste in music, these kids don’t know it, that sort of thing,” they shrug, “I like it, but I won’t make a career out of it.” It’s not something they want to make a career of, fearing that once they started doing it outside of their home, or not with friends, they won’t love it anymore. The idea of work killing the love. “I was about 12 or 13 when I started, so for about 17 years?” they say, but it was sort of a grey area, those few years, “My mom figured it was easier to give me something to focus on but every kid reacts differently when their parents get divorced.”

“Yes please but I’ll switch my whiskey to Bullet.” She replies pointing to the glass and looks at her. “Some writers don’t feel that way, hell some painters think that someone else is full of garbage. But I don’t think talent should be denied over something subjective.” She replies as she listens to the other talk about music and she smiles. She knew many people who had discovered hidden talents during the breakup of a nuclear family. “You must have quite the callouses.”

[thegoodprofessorhill]

faithbishop‌:

It was official–Faith liked this woman, if only because she seemed just as predisposed to calling people out on their failings. “He checked off both of those marks,” she laughed, “and thank you, it really was a tragedy while I was in it.” She was already delighted to hear her new acquaintance was a professor where she went to school, but the mention of Stanford made her gasp. “Oh my gosh, I did my undergraduate degree there! I tended to like the stuffiness of it but I can’t blame you for wanting to teach somewhere else, you’d be stuck there a lot longer. So should I assume you teach English, then?”

A smirk plays at her lips, she rather likes the young girl. She had to be bright to attend schools with such prestige. But even if she wasn’t bright, Lennox thinks she’d rather like the young lady. “I teach a couple classes focusing on language and writing.” She replies, and wonders if she’d bother asking about her. She had quite the reputation of terrifying young writers around the campus. “As much as I’m loather to admit it, I think I’m better suited to this campus and this place.”

[thegoodprofessorhill]

norcots‌:

“     —- i know ,   i know …      don’t show up unannounced.    ”        announcing himself ,   he pushes through the door with one too many bags and trays  - for as much as he claims to know ,     there seems to be a discrepancy in his actions .    either that ,    or he’s intent on breaking those set grounding rules on purpose .      “   before you get mad at me ,   I’ve come bearing gifts !        i brought coffee .     and tea .     and soda …      I don’t know what the middle one is ,    but it looks healthy and I wouldn’t touch it .      i wasn’t sure what you liked,    so   —— i just got everything to be on the safe side .        how’s it looking for me ?      ”    @thegoodprofessorhill​

There were probably plenty of woman and men who dreamt of a man showing up like this, especially one with that boyish charm. Lennox was not one of those women. Spread over her table is a stack of essays and they bleed with red ink, some littered with furious underlining. “I suppose I won’t turn you to stone with my very gaze, since you come bearing gifts. And to what do I owe the pleasure of your unexpected company?”

[athenamylah-m]

“Some girls are full of heartache and poetry and those are the kind of girls who try to save wolves instead of running from them.”

— Nikita Gill (via thewildestwallflower)

[thegoodprofessorhill]

atticusrossi‌:

“This is gonna sound so fake, but I just happened to have it on my phone,” he defends himself with a wry grin, knowing he wasn’t actually trying to impress her but not bothered by her thinking so. “And c’mon, I had to show you after that comment,” he says, gesturing toward her with his glass, “It was too good to pass up.” Atticus sips on his wine as she speaks, and her description of herself earns another chuckle. “Technically cavemen didn’t have books, did they? So you’re thinking far too modern,” he shakes his head at her teasingly, “If it’s not stone tablets or stories relayed through cave paintings then I don’t even wanna hear it.”

“You’re right, it does sound awfully fake.” She deadpans as she says this as she stares at him. “But no, I quite appreciated your flare, but you ought to advise your friend that not everyone who has an idea should be the same person writing it.” He’s not a fool, and she thinks that should he ever write something it might be worth reading. But then, it’s hard to peer inside the soul of another bar goer and learn what aspirations they had. Perhaps he fancied himself another Leonardo DiCaprio. “You know they say, every plot is just a recycle of something else these days.” She muses as she traces the rim of her glass with her fingertips and eyes him. “I have to wonder, what do you think the original Gossip Girl looked like? I imagine somewhere there’s a cave painting signed, XOXO or something.”

[thegoodprofessorhill]

temp-orary-reyes‌:

“That’s subjective,” Temple ponders, “I can’t say I am. It’s a hobby.” They loved it, that much is for sure, but wasn’t about to stand on corners and busk, or link everyone to their music. They just played it for their own enjoyment, “Uh, guitar mostly. I have a ukulele too. And a theremin just because I’m weird like that and scary noises have a soft spot in my heart.”

“I’ll have to disagree,” She drawls as she regards her and finishes her drink, “Taste is subjective-I’m not assuming I’d like anything of yours. Talent is not. I may loathe a write or a director, but I can’t deny their talent even if it clashes with what I agree with.” It’s the teacher in her now, because she’s not being condescending-or at least she hopes she isn’t, but she believes the world would be in better shape if they all could recognize someone else’s strengths didn’t detract from their own. “How long have you been playing then?”

[thegoodprofessorhill]

holden-alexander‌:

Holden didn’t know what it was about today, but he was walking his two Siberian Huskies when Aurora managed to pull the collar over her head. “Fuck–” a curse left Holden’s mouth. They had never gotten free of their collars before. Bear threatened to try to take charge of Holden’s walk, but he commanded him to stay and had trained him well enough to keep up with him, instead of pulling on his lead and trying to pull ahead, so Bear obeyed and stayed with him. 

The female Husky, however, had come free and dashed toward the nearest person she saw, Holden’s friend @thegoodprofessorhill​. He was lucky that the dog took interest in her, because it would have taken Holden a while to get her back. She was definitely more high-strung than the other dog and not trained as well, but just as sweet, barking and showering Lennox in kisses. Holden had the day off work and had been just enjoying his time out with his dogs. “Sorry,” he called towards Lennox, heading her way with Bear walking well with him. “Hey…” He let a small laugh escape as the dog excitedly kissed on Lennox. “Aurora, down. Down, girl.” She obeyed after the second ‘down’, and Holden ran a hand through his hair before pulling the collar and leash back over her head. “That’s never happened before.“ He shook his head and laughed. “So. Long time no see. How are you?”

Lennox Hill was on a mission, to get more coffee and make these first drafts bleed with red ink. She’d bought a new batch of her favorite red pens to commemorate the occasion. She hadn’t thought she’d go through so many of them though. It seemed some of her students hadn’t equated the standards she upheld when talking about the works of others to her critiquing their papers. 

She’s stewing over what to get for her morning coffee, whether she should indulge in something with whipped cream or just stick to the dignified order. That’s when she notes the beast barreling towards her on the sidewalk. A smile cracks her features, because any human who could withstand the charm of animals, specifically dogs, should be banished to an island of sneaks. “Hello beautiful.” She coos, letting the creature leap all over her as she coos and pets it. “You’re such a pretty girl.” 

The moment ends when Holden arrives to scold the beast, but then she smiled. “Well she really wanted to see me.” And then she regards him, as if counting the time since their last engagement. “It has been a long time. Don’t tell me you’ve found someone else to drink margaritas with?”

[drethelin]

Now THIS is how you cast a spell

[nataliedormersource]

“What is dead may never die.” (x)

[thegoodprofessorhill]

faithbishop‌:

Faith cracked a rare smile, a little impressed by the woman’s stoicism even in the face of her dry tone. “Oh, he was. Arguably the worst.” She lifted her eyebrows when she was told the other blonde was indeed a professor, which at least made sense. All college professors had a feel about them. Regardless, she found herself reluctantly liking this woman. “You are telling me,” she said emphatically with a shake of her head. “If it wasn’t for the sun and the warm weather I couldn’t stand to live here with these people. Thankfully it is.” She flashed another smile. “Anyway, where do you teach? Don’t tell me UCLA.”

“General Education professors are required to have a sense of grandiose for no reason and it helps if they also have a novel doomed to fail in the works.” She should know, she’s met enough of them. She takes a sip of her drink and regards the other girl. “My condolences for your brush with subpar interpretations of cliche texts.” She replies, as if anyone hadn’t seen something related to Shakespeare in the last decade. “Ah-you’ve found me out, I do in fact teach at UCLA but it’s not for lack of trying. I just couldn’t stand the air at Stanford.”

[thegoodprofessorhill]

atticusrossi‌:

Her evaluation of him makes him sputter with laughter, “Thanks, I hate that.” He slips his phone back into his pocket, then leans his elbows on the table next to her. “Does it help if I tell you it’s not my screenplay? I’m working on the thing, but I didn’t write it,” he says as if he expects her to care about that. Really, her comments just make him feel oddly defensive, even if he’s not ashamed by his movie work at all. “You’re one of those ‘put the phone down and live in the moment’ people then?” he asks as he reaches for his glass of wine, actually interested to hear what she has to say, if only because she’s so blatantly judgmental, “I mean, genuinely asking.”

She earns a laugh from him and that pleases her enough, he could laugh at himself. He couldn’t be that bad. She could think of dozens of ways to make the pages bleed with her discerning eye but scripts weren’t her thing. “But was it not still at your fingertips in case you found someone worthy to impress?” She inquires when he offers a defense, her lips twist back into the smirk and she shakes her head. “I’m afraid I’m even more archaic and less cool than those people. I’m one of those godforsaken people who still read books in their physical form. I know what you’re thinking, I must love to live as a caveman but c’est la vie.”

[thegoodprofessorhill]

temp-orary-reyes‌:

They laugh softly, “I play music but I wouldn’t count myself as a musician. No one hears it but me, and my neighbors. Everyone has their vices, and that’s what I take it as,” they shrug, “Exactly. Music is just that, I’m not going to judge someone for not listening to the same music as me, because it’s whatever makes you happy, y’know? “

“Then you must be actually talented.” Lennox observes as she blinks at the girl, her finger following the circle at the rim of her glass. She’s relatively grateful the girl doesn’t take a moment to thrust a spotify playlist upon her. She dealt with enough of her students creating literary playlists and pestering her to have a listen. As if good literature should be enjoyed first in silence, at the second read they were welcome to listen but she doesn’t appreciate everyone’s need for distraction. “Isn’t that how the cliche goes anyways? What do you play?”

[thegoodprofessorhill]

missxrosalie‌:

There was not a more accurate description of Rose.

“I know nothing about Montana nor its men nor its sheep. Manhattan, however, I know well. I grew up there.” Bringing her own glass to red painted lips, “If you’re off-off broadway you’ll be thrust into the avant-garde. If you’re in Sugar Hill you’ll never want to leave. There’s a special energy there that I miss.” 

Sometimes she missed New York so much her heart wept. She remembers dancing in Harlem. Chicago, Paris… It wasn’t the same. Returning her gaze to the woman next to her, “I’ve recently moved here from Paris… So I’ve yet to fully understand LA mentalities.”

“I didn’t think anyone who was there was actually from there, I thought it was just a myth to make any transplants feel inferior.” It’s a rare individual who was both willing and able to keep up with her wit. LA often had people who seemed to be more than they really were, people summarized books and pulled quotes they’d never read before. “Oh Paris, yes I’d imagine the shopping alone would be quite the culture shock. I’ve never seen so much distressed, torn, unhappy denim.”

[thegoodprofessorhill]

missxrosalie‌:

“Don’t do it.” Rose warned, “You’ll end up disappointed. And bored. So, so bored.” 

She wasn’t often found at the bar, here only for a meeting with her agent which had long passed. But Rose wasn’t one to say no to a drink and while she had her own money having people buy them for her was always a nice treat. She had debated heading home when the woman next to her spoke, and Rose decided she liked the cut of her jib. Enough to hang around a bit longer at least, “Not from around her?” 

She wasn’t sure she’d get a response, so when she does the woman next to her draws a certain reaction. She studies her face, deciding that if there was a predestined ending to the world, this woman may no it and she wasn’t telling any of them. She sips her whisky, “I’m afraid not, I’m from Montana where the men are men and the sheep are scared. But recently I was living out in Manhattan. Neither place did I have the pleasure of having sub-par screenplays forced on me.”

[thegoodprofessorhill]

atticusrossi‌:

Atticus’ phone might be almost permanently attached to his hand, but he still nods at her disdain for it. He doesn’t particularly care either way, though it’s hard to argue with her point. Her suggestion that he’s another one of those LA people earns a chuckle from him. “Would you be shocked if I pulled one out right now?” Mirroring her smirk, he digs the aforementioned phone out from his pocket and pulls up just that — a screenplay, though it’s not his own, which he slides over to her. “Do I actually look that much like some desperate film bro?”

“I do believe you’ve just called my bluff.” She murmurs regarding the phone that is slid over to her. She takes a bracing sip of whisky, knowing that anyone who would keep something with them and toss it to a stranger so trivially must truly think they’re entitled to be famous. And wasn’t everyone here so entitled to be famous or to have attention? Perhaps she should have stuck to the east coast. She scoffs right then at the introduction. “I wasn’t making a statement about you, for what it’s worth, it was more or less about the illness that’s infected the population here. Though,” She regards him for a moment before her attention is on the screenplay again, “You do have a je nais se broness to you.”