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[apolla]

Sitting around the table with this ragtag group, Anders was surprised to find that he wasn't having as bad of a time as he thought. But then again, Anders was the type to have fun doing just about anything. He could almost always find a silver lining in a situation, or at least crack a joke or five until he made someone laugh. Usually it was just himself, but it still counted. The lemonade was fancy but delicious, and even if the weather wasn't extremely hot yet, the drink was quite refreshing. No one was fighting or scratching out someone's eyes, and there was even some light flirting going on.

Max pulled out a flask to dump some clear liquor into his drink, then tossed it to Anders. "You're the real MVP, Max." Anders grinned as he unscrewed the cap and dumped a healthy amount into his own lemonade, stirring the glass with his other hand and then taking a sip. "Not quite sweet enough." He added a splash more of the vodka before he glanced up, hearing Lily's comment. "If he'll share with me, I have no doubt he'll share with you." He winked at Lily before he handed the flask over to her, taking another gulp of his mostly vodka drink now. The others had chimed in about the Maypole celebration, and upon hearing Vivian's comment, Anders just grinned and winked at her.

She seemed to relax some when Max made almost the same joke, causing Ders to roll his eyes. Whatever. Smirking at MJ, Anders lifted his glass in his direction. "You know I'll be there." He told his friend, taking another sip before he set his glass back down. Not that he'd get wasted from one glass of vodka lemonade, but he wanted to savor it. Max's flask wouldn't last forever. Dominic chimed in about the Mayday celebration as well, and Ders just clicked his tongue at the rich kid. "I gotta tell you in advance? Man, come on. Anytime with me is a celebration, you should always be prepared."

Grinning, he leaned forward, drumming his fingers on the table. "Damn northsiders, always looking for an excuse to party. Maybe we're not that different after all." His grin widened, his eyes landing on Vivi when Dominic brought up that she may be crowned queen. "There's a queen, too? Damn, didn't know we were in the presence of royalty." He lifted his hands in a mock defensive gesture, his lips twisting into a smirk as he glanced around the table. "Now, Vivian, why you gotta be so uptight? Just relax a little bit, sheesh." She shot him another glare but he just smiled innocently at her, causing her to scoff. "So what time does this pole dancing ceremony begin?"

anders

lowlife
by [theory of a deadman]

interactions:
MJ; Max; Bia; Dom; Vivi

tags:
_amaranth_ ; Desert_Blossom MadiRaiCat

mood:
himself

outfit:
Click!

º º code by ditto º º

 

[Desert_Blossom]

Vanessa Hill

Despite coming from two drastically different ways of life, the Southsiders and Northsiders enjoyed a surprisingly peaceful lunch. At least it was more peaceful than the last time they were all together. The Russian had a flask and Dominic suggested a round of shots, which turned into a couple more for those who wanted to chase a little more of a buzz to get through the festivities. While Nessa hated what Dom and Maxim represented, she did appreciated that they knew how to have fun, especially when it benefited her. Besides, booze had a way of momentarily pushing everyone’s differences to the background, and the pinkette actually found herself enjoying the company of the Northsiders. Even if she’d never admit it.



Apparently though, the petite girl was able to hold her alcohol a little better than some. The booze got the better of Anders and the temporary peace was broken when he got fresh with Lily, earning himself a black eye from the brunette and a smack on the back of the head from Vanessa for being a creep. Of course, the Southsiders were sadly used to much worse than smacked butts and black eyes, so the group recovered quickly as they all walked over to the main lawn for the ceremony.



The shots were doing their job, and Nessa was in a good mood despite preferring a different scene. The pinkette was doing her best to behave, but it was so tempting to scandalize the Northsiders who gave the mixed group questioning or judgmental looks. Instead she just rolled her blue eyes at the high brow members of society, and followed the others as they made their way through the crowd to find a place closer to the stage. She leaned over to Lily, a wry smile tugging at her mouth. “You’d think we had three heads and were coming to steal their first born sons the way they stare…” The pinkette joked, exaggerating, but not much. “They should be more worried about their wallets or cars, right Trouble?” She added, nudging MJ with her shoulder as they came to a stop.



The late afternoon sun was warm as it shone down on the gathered crowd, and Nessa slipped out of her jean jacket, hanging it over her purse. “So how long does this thing take?” She asked, pulling her hair up into a messy bun to keep cool and keep any tan she received even. “This isn’t like a Miss America pageant, right? You don’t have to go up there and perform do you, Red?” Nessa wondered, turning her attention to Vivi for a moment. If this was a quick thing, she could put up with supporting Victor’s sister, but once her buzz started to wear off she was sure to become impatient. Nessa popped a piece of gum the color of her hair in her mouth, chewing it for a moment before blowing a couple bubbles to keep her antsiness and tipsy impulses under control til the ceremony started.

Buzzed

Mayday Fair

Outfit

MadiRaiCat apolla _amaranth_

nine lives

 

[Desert_Blossom]

Maxim Drozdov

The lavender lemonade at lunch had been good, but it was much better once a little vodka was added to it. Though, everything was better with vodka according to Max. The Russian was pleased when his pal suggested shots and was happy to partake. He noticed that Lily had abstained other than spiking her drink with the vodka he’d been happy to share with her, and Bia was never big on drinking. The pink haired girl he still hadn’t caught the name of kept up with the guys though, and it took Max a little while to realize that the person she kept referring to as Smirnoff in the conversation was him. He didn’t particularly care for the nickname since he didn’t consider Smirnoff very high quality vodka, but he doubted that the Southside girl was very knowledgeable in fine vodkas so he didn’t take too much offense.

Lunch passed enjoyably, with Max happy to be around his friends, both old and new, and a nice buzz building. It was always easier for the Russian man to be more outgoing with a little help from the bottle, and he was very spirited as he complimented Bia on the success of the festival and told her about how the ones back home in Russia compared. He'd been distracted talking to the pretty brunette, and had missed the events that led to Ders earning himself a black eye while they made their way to the ceremony stage. This was probably for the best though, because if he'd witnessed his pal copping a feel on Lily, he would have likely given Anders a second black eye to match instead of a cold can of soda to press against his swelling skin. "Looks like you picked the wrong fight..." He joked, offering the southsider a grin.

As they made their way through the crowded fair to find a spot to watch Vivi be crowned queen, because Max was certain that his feisty friend would walk away victorious, he watched a few of the carnival rides. "Maybe later someone will be brave enough to ride a few of the thrill rides with me?" He mused, ignorantly optimistic that the fun would continue into the evening. "I didn't trust the big rides back in Russia, too many reports of them breaking down and injuring people." He added with a shrug as they came to a spot on the grass in front of the stage. Maxim glanced over at Vivi when the pink haired girl asked if she had to perform anything, before movement on the stage caught his eye. It was almost showtime, and the crowd around them shifted a little in anticipation.

Jovial

Festival

Outfit

_amaranth_ apolla MadiRaiCat

nine lives

 

[_amaranth_]

Bianca

MOOD: embarrassed
LOCATION: Mayday celebration
OUTFIT: click!
INTERACTIONS: Vivi
MENTIONS: x
TAGS: apolla

Watching people pour vodka in the refreshing lemonade made Bianca open her eyes even more. It felt almost like a crime to do so but her mouth remained shut. She was not about to point it out to everyone anyway, what kind of buzzkill was she? While she was not exactly impressed by the taste of that Russian national treasure back at Dom’s party, everyone else could enjoy the potato bullshit as much as they wanted. The lemonade tasted amazing even without improvements to her and she kept sipping it, sucking on her straw, chewing the piece of plastic with her teeth as everyone kept talking. They seemed to have quite a pleasant conversation even though it might seem they were all being catty in a way. Bia remained as an observer and a part of her wondered how she even got in a group like this.

Being sociable and having a lot of fun was always Ronnie’s part. Bianca was the quieter twin, the nerdy one who was on her way to become the class valedictorian, the one who would lend you notes for any subject and those would be color-coded, neat, organized in large binders based on the topic and the date and she was simply the kind of girl who was labeled as a helper. She was here for everyone, could help with any problem and just was the responsible one who was rarely invited to a party or even to have a milkshake and a burger after school in the local diner. She was just… Bianca.

Lunch was over before she knew it though and one glance at her watch told her the pageant was going to begin soon. She didn’t have any large role in that but she was still wearing that organizer badge. As the whole group was walking towards the makeshift stage, Bia was going through the papers on her clipboard, making sure she had not forgotten to do anything. In her thoughts, she was not paying attention to her surroundings and never noticed they actually stopped until she bumped into a person. An annoyed middle aged man turned around, towering over her like a pylon. “I’m sorry, Sir.” Bia peeped and a red flood covered her cheeks. “Watch where you’re going, girl. Jesus, you almost knocked me down.” Bia looked at him and parted her lips. “I said sorry.” she said with a firmer voice. “Plus you're almost twice my size, no way I could…”

The man turned around, straightening his back, and looked at her even worse. “You say I’m lying?” he grumbled and Bianca took a step back. “Uh…no, I… Vivi!” she almost squealed, locating the redhead. “Come with me, I’ll take you to the first line-up!” Bianca breathed and took the girl by her hand, almost dragging her away. It was neither polite, nor graceful but embarrassment was flushing the brunette from every side and she just needed to get out of there. With her, the courage was coming and going and now it was completely gone. “Do you want to change or is this what you’re wearing for the stage?” Bia asked, leading Vivi to the small backstage where all the other girls were already waiting for the big moment.

code by low fidelity.

 

[_amaranth_]

Maddox

MOOD: hungry, confused
LOCATION: Mayday celebration
OUTFIT: click!
INTERACTIONS: Nessa, Anders, Vivi, Dominic
TAGS: apolla , Desert_Blossom

Maddox was slowly starting to wrap his mind around the whole idea of a pole dancing ceremony and the fact that the Northsiders were the ones to come up with it. He certainly had to suggest that back home and he was more than certain that his side of the town could come up with a way more brilliant version that would be just as eye-catching as this one. Whatever this meant though. Based on the explanations he had heard though, Madds was convinced that he was not going to like it and it was not going to be as aesthetically pleasing as he imagined. But once he finally came to terms with that, they told him there was a pageant or what not. “You, people, use any opportunity to crown yourselves, right?” he asked with his mouth full of his burger. That thing was damn delicious and while he was a sort of patriot, loving everything about the Southside, claiming that everything was better there, in his mind, he had to admit that no burger there came even close to this one.

“You sure are bossy, Red, aren’t you?” MJ laughed when Vivi ranted on the right time to clap and their eyes met. “Would you like a red carpet, a large bouquet of roses and Mariah Carey singing the anthem for you as well?” he smirked, wiping his hands in a wet wipe, provided to him with the burger. He then licked his lips and finished the rest of his absolutely not spicy lemonade, leaning back in his seat. The lunch was solid, MJ was truly satisfied.

The group soon moved on and walked across the festival and to the stage where everyone wanted to see the queen. Slinging his arm around Nessa’s shoulder, as usual, he watched the surroundings. Nessa was blowing bubbles of her pink gum and when the last one came out, MJ pinched it with his left index finger, making it pop and cover her upper lip in a sticky substance. “I hope we’re not gonna spend hours here. If this is even half of Miss America shit, I vote to do the coasters now, we should be back just in time for that clapping moment.” he mused, looking around just in time to see Bianca’s escapades. A loud snort left his lips and he shook his head. “One might not believe she and Ronnie were even related if there wasn’t the same face to them. Yo, Anders, what’s her deal, dude?” MJ looked over his shoulder, asking his friend who knew the brunette better.

Bianca then dragged Vivi away. “Good luck, kitten! Don’t hurt anyone, keep those claws to yourself this time!” he grinned. “Seriously though, how long is it gonna take? You look like this is your every day fancy shit, Debonair, how long?” he asked Dominic, ignoring getting his last name wrong every time they met. Maddox couldn’t care less, learning the rich names was not his priority anyway.

code by low fidelity.

 

[MadiRaiCat]

location

Restaurant -> Maypole.

mentions

Nessa, Max ( Desert_Blossom ), MJ, Bia ( _amaranth_ ), Vivi.

interactions

Ders ( apolla ), Dom.

outfit

x, x.

Liliana

southside

So, maybe going to the festival wasn't the best idea. After all, she didn't enjoy being in a crowd of people, let alone strangers. And while she was there with Nessa, who was effectively her closest friend, that didn't satisfy the discomfort of the situation. The only positives that had come out of it so far were spending time with her friend, taking the wallet of that unsuspecting jerk, and the delicious food and drinks she didn't have to pay for. All in all, the meal mostly passed without a hitch. The sweet potato fries were delicious, but she should have known that as soon as alcohol was involved, things could go to the wayside rather quickly. First just impromptu vodka cocktails, and then shots. While Lily partook in a few of the adult beverages, she held back a bit. Completely letting loose at such a public event wasn't entirely her style, not as much as some of the others anyway. The guys could certainly put away quite a bit of booze, though not entirely to their benefit. Nevertheless, she would have never predicted getting felt up by a fellow Southsider as they stood up to leave.

Spinning on her heel, Lily reacted entirely on instinct as she threw a closed fist directly into the side of Anders' face. For just a brief moment, she actually felt bad. Maybe it could have been an accident. But, when she realized who it was, that empathetic feeling quickly disappeared. Anders had always made her wary, nervous. They went to school together, but he dropped out and went on to sell drugs, the very things that she despised. She couldn't help but associate him with the problem sweeping the Southside, the epidemic that ultimately took her mother's life. Deep down, a part of her knew that it was a ruse, a way or project her feelings of guilt as blame on someone else. But it would take a lot more growth and self-discovery before she would be willing to admit that. Instead, Liliana just shot Anders what she hoped was an intimidating glare, satisfied that some bruising had already begun to form beneath his eye before she turned on her heel and continued with the others towards the ceremony.

The ceremony seemed to be in full swing by the time they got there, a crowd of people already form alongside the Maypole and stage. Lily found herself looking up at the pole curiously, silently wishing she had grabbed the sketchpad from her saddlebag when she arrived. It was made of solid wood, about 15 feet or so tall, with a wreath of color spring and summer flowers at the top. Seven ribbons, each a different color of the rainbow, hung down with small weights at the bottom to keep them from swaying in the light breeze. What seemed to be intricated patterns of white decoration were etched into the ribbons, though each one was seemingly different. A few people milled about, selling handmade corsages and flower crowns to festival attendees. All in all, it was a serene and happy image that she would have loved to capture on paper. Everyone was chatting idly until an older man, the Mayor as Lily recognized took the stage with a microphone in hand.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming out to join us for this year's Maypole Ceremony. Here shortly, we will be crowning this year's May Queen. But before that, it's time for the Maypole Dance! This year our volunteers are..." The Mayor paused, squinting through his glasses at what was probably a list of names written on a small piece of paper. Liliana couldn't help but roll her eyes, unable to consider the event anything but ridiculous. Who would willingly volunteer to be publicly humiliated like that? "Dominic Devereaux, Bianca Clayton, Maxim Drozdov, Maddox Grant, Liliana Atwood, Anders Gibson, and Vanessa Hill. Would you all please take your positions?" At the sound of her name, Lily froze. What? She had never volunteered for that. But, the brunette was in too much shock to object when Dom excitedly corralled them towards the pole. She paused in her spot of the circle, taking the green ribbon that he handed her. This was most certainly far from staying under the radar.

nine lives

 

[MadiRaiCat]

location

Restaurant -> Maypole.

mentions

Bia.

interactions

Vivi, Ders ( apolla ), Max ( Desert_Blossom ), MJ ( _amaranth_ ), Lily.

outfit

x.

Dominic

northside

The Northsiders were people of luxury, most having come from an upper-middle to high-class background, some from entrepreneurship and hard work while others survived of old money their ancestors accumulated that had been passed on to them. Dominic was of the latter group, never completely having to work a hard day in his life, though he told himself planning a large bash at his house was most certainly hard work. After all, predicting what drugs would be there and what alcohols those drugs paired best with? Now that was a talent. Everything about the May Day festival screamed of prestige, from the fancy decor and expensive floral arrangements to the gourmet food stands and boutique-style booths. Even the pageant was hyperbolic in many ways, pitting the town's prettiest young adult women against one another in an attempt to "promote community service and provide scholarship opportunities," as the tagline said. Everyone knew, however, that it was a popularity contest where the woman deemed the most physically beautiful won, regardless of their views on poverty or the number of volunteer hours they possessed.

Nevertheless, Dominic was happy to be supporting Vivian. He knew her better than most, and knew that, underneath the 'mean girl' persona she displayed, there was someone who truly deserved that crown. Plus, he would be lying if he didn't say she was pretty, in a purely platonic, "you're my sister" type of way. Shots and food arrived at the table, followed by more alcohol to the point that the brunette heir was definitely tipsy. The other good thing about Northsiders generally being party people? No one questioned when a group primarily made up of underage individuals ordered alcohol. His head felt slightly fuzzy, but that didn't stop him from enjoying the delicious meal as well as time spent with close friends and some minor acquaintances. Anders' new bruise was just another fun party quirk to him, and Dom let out a low chuckle at Maxim's words, clapping the former on the shoulder. "Can't say that I necessarily blame you. But, those girls are a lot tougher than they look. You're lucky all she gave you was that black eye."

As they headed towards the stage and Maypole where the ceremony would inevitably take place, Dominic wrapped an arm around Vivi's shoulders, pulling her in for a quick side hug. "You better knock 'em dead, Viv. Those other girls have nothing on you," he said with a grin, hoping she wasn't entirely freaking out. A little nervousness was good, but full-on stress? Not so much. As Vivi and Bia disappeared to the stage, the brunette man turned back to his friends, hearing Max's questions. "Rides sound like a great idea! I mean, they're still those portable mini-rides, not like a full amusement park. But this is the Northside, so I can only assume they pulled out all the stops and ordered the expensive, well-made ones," he answered with a chuckle, shrugging one shoulder absentmindedly. From MJ's tone and misspeak of his last name, Dom could tell that the Southsider wasn't exactly happy to be standing around at a pageant. Blue gaze finding him, the heir shrugged his shoulders. "Depends on how many rounds, how many girls entered. An hour?"

A little too tipsy to come back with a witty comment for the surname debacle right then and there, Dominic ignored it and went quiet as the Mayor took the stage. Why the old man insisted on emceeing the event every year was beyond him. But he would be lying if he said it wasn't entertaining watching the old jerk fawn over women definitely too young for him in an attempt to persuade one into another affair. It was no secret that he had cheated on his wife with a mistress half his age in the past. But, the town, at least the Northside, was quick to look past that as long as he didn't change the tax brackets and kept funding the high school sports teams. Rich people were surprisingly easy to bribe and buy. When their names were called, however, Dominic couldn't help but be excited. He certainly hadn't put their names in the Goblet of Fire, but he was quick to corral his friends towards the Maypole. "Come on, guys. This will be great!" he said, handing a green ribbon to Lily before taking a blue one for himself. Maybe it was still the alcohol talking, but hey, he could get into the festivities. What's the worst that could happen?

nine lives

 

[apolla]

Despite a few snarky comments, most of them from Vivian, the lunch between the ragtag group of people actually went pretty well. Vivi didn't partake in the extracurriculars being offered, wanting to keep her mind sharp for the upcoming ceremony. The truth was, she was nervous about it, considering she was going up against a few different girls for the spot of queen. Though it might seem silly to some, especially a few of the others at the table, she needed that crown. It was a way to show her father that she was worth something, because it meant that people in the town wanted her to win. She wasn't oblivious to the fact that she didn't come across as Miss Sunshine, but if she won the votes... maybe it would make the man look at her with a little less disgust in his eyes.

After everyone finished eating, they all stood from the table to head to the ceremony. Vivi only heard Anders' grunt with Lily punched him, looking over at them with a mixed look of shock and annoyance on her features. She said nothing, though, just leaned her head on Dominic's shoulder when he gave her a half hug. Before she could say anything back to his words of encouragement, Bia was shrieking her name and grabbing her to pull her towards the stage. "Hey!" Vivi snatched her arm back when they finally reached the backstage area, narrowing her eyes at the other girl. Bia asked if she was wearing her current outfit onstage, and she scoffed. "Please. I dropped off a spare." She flung her hair over her shoulder, walking over to one of the makeshift changing areas and pulling the curtain closed.

As she'd expected, her dress was there and in pristine condition. She stripped out of her sweater-like dress and thigh high boots, setting them aside before she pulled on the fancy red dress. She smoothed out the fabric, slipping into her black strappy stilettos before she marched out of the changing area. "Bianca! I need you to zip me." Holding up her hair, she stopped in front of the organizer, turning so that the girl could zip the dress. "Thanks." She dropped her hair as soon as Bia finished, fluffing it out before she caught sight of the other contestants. She made a face but said nothing as she made her way onstage with them. Vivi was so lost in her own thoughts that she missed the announcement of the volunteers. It wasn't until she saw the group making their way to the pole that she snapped out of her reverie, surprise written on her features.

They each took an end of the ribbon and the ceremony started. Vivi watched them for a few moments before another familiar face caught her eye. Sliding her gaze a little to the left, she saw her father standing at the edge of the crowd. She couldn't read his face, but she still stood up straighter, plastering a smile on her face. While the ribbon ceremony commenced, the mayor spoke, her smile becoming a little more real as her name was announced. She'd won. Her gaze immediately flew back to her father, and for a moment, she thought she saw some amount of pride in his eyes. But then everything went to shit. The mayor paused, and Vivi glanced over at him, following his confused gaze to the now finished maypole. "There seems to be a message written on the pole, folks." He started, tilting his head slightly to read it. "Death... Death to the queen."

And then two things happened simultaneously. First, sparks started at the top of the pole, catching on some of the ribbons and starting a fire.

Second, a sticky, red substance fell from the rafters right onto Vivi, drenching her in front of everyone.

vivi

pretty girl
by [maggie lindemann]

interactions:
dom; bia; maddox; anders; max

tags:
MadiRaiCat Desert_Blossom _amaranth_

mood:
shocked

outfit:
Click!

º º code by ditto º º

 

[apolla]

Somewhere in Anders mind, he knew that he was hitting the vodka a little too heavily. Sitting around the table with everyone else, he could feel the alcohol creeping through his veins, making the world move a little slower and lowering his inhibitions. The latter was evident by his actions when everyone finished eating and started to stand. Lily's ass looked quite delectable in her shorts, and he couldn't stop his hand from reaching out and copping a feel. She immediately turned on him, not even hesitating before she flat out punched him. He grunted in response, stumbling backwards a few paces. He didn't notice Nessa coming closer until she was there, slapping him upside the head and making him call out. "Hey!" He shrank away from the southside ladies, sulking as he started walking with them to the ceremony.

Thankfully, his new russian friend offered him a cold can of soda for him to press against his eye. He nodded in thanks, muttering a "yeah, yeah" in response to his advice. Managing to keep his walking fairly straight despite being tipsy and only having the use of one eye currently, they reached the stage area. Bia almost ran a guy over, and Anders chuckled as she grabbed Vivi and carted her off. Hearing MJ, Anders glanced over at the guy, trying to judge just how much of a dick he was being by asking what her deal was. "She's doesn't do well with stress." He laughed again, shaking his head some as he glanced towards the stage. Imagine his surprise when the ceremony began, and the mayor announced his name-- along with the others by him-- to be the volunteers. "Excuse me?" He asked, lowering the can of soda.

"Not happen-" He started to say, but Dominic ushered them towards the stage, saying it'd be fun. "I think you and I have different ideas of fun, dude." He muttered, tossing the still full can of soda onto the ground as he followed. Grabbing a ribbon, he started moving with the others to wrap them around the pole, pretty much ignoring the mayor talking onstage. Weaving in and out with the others made him feel pretty stupid, especially with the townsfolk watching them. Some time during this, Vivi was announced queen. Anders let go of the ribbon as soon as he was done, stepping aside and crossing his arms over his chest. He hadn't even looked at the pole, not until the mayor announced there was a message on it. Quirking a brow at the man, Anders glanced at the pole, the blood in his veins turning to ice when the mayor read the message aloud.

A scream cut through the air, and Anders' head whipped back towards the stage. Vivi stood there, covered in what looked an awful lot like blood. She'd taken the brunt of the liquid, and now just stood there, mouth wide open as the heavy red substance dripped down her. "Fire!" Someone from the crowd called, and Anders' head now turned towards the pole, looking up. There were indeed flames licking at the top of the pole. His arms uncrossed and he stepped back a few more paces. The crowd was now thoroughly spooked, and people were grabbing their kids or just making a run for it. Anders looked around, trying to find Bia, but it was nearly impossible in the crowd. "We have to get the fuck out of here." Anders snapped, turning on his heel and taking off, not even looking back to see who followed.

anders

lowlife
by [theory of a deadman]

interactions:
MJ; Max; Bia; Dom; Vivi

tags:
_amaranth_ ; Desert_Blossom MadiRaiCat

mood:
himself

outfit:
Click!

º º code by ditto º º

 

[Desert_Blossom]

Vanessa Hill

If not for the alcohol served during lunch, Nessa would not have had the patience to sit, or rather stand, through a sexist ceremony that paraded north side girls on stage, pitting them against each other. The pinkette wasn't a soapbox standing feminist by any means, but she was in a constant fight to be taken seriously in the Southside and earn the respect of the hardedged male population who liked to take advantage of women in more ways than one. This pageant did little to help the cause, but this was the Northside, so at the end of the day she didn't care enough to bad mouth an event that Vivi seemed excited, or was it nervous, about. She might not have been close to the redhead, but trashing something that was important to Vivi wouldn't help the cause either. Nessa could be sharp tongued and hold her own if anyone came after her, but she wasn't catty for the sake of being catty.

Feeling the relaxing effect of the booze, Nessa leaned into Maddox a little when he put his arm around her shoulder. She was keeping herself entertained blowing bubbles until MJ was cheeky enough to pop one with his fingers. Not expecting it, the pinkette let out a surprised squeak, before her brows furrowed as she looked up at the blonde man with a bemused expression. She was tempted to get the Southsider back right away for his little stunt and kiss him with her now sticky lips, but she resisted, deciding that making even more of a mess right now wouldn't be a cute look. Pulling the gum from her mouth and lip, Nessa tossed it towards a nearby waste bin, not bothering to check whether she actually made the basket or not. Blue eyes glanced between MJ and Dominic when the former inquired how long the ceremony would be, and the latter responded about an hour. Not happy to hear it would be so long, Nessa just let out a long breath and sagged deeper into MJ's side as the Mayor began talking.

The pink haired girl was only half listening to what the adulterous Mayor had to say, but when a list of familiar names caught her ear, her own bringing up the rear, Nessa snapped to attention. "No fucking way..." She breathed, figuring that Bianca must have put their names in while she was backstage with Vivi as sort of a joke after their discussion at lunch. Only when Dominic excitedly ushered the group over to the Maypole to take their places did Nessa slip out from under MJ's arm and follow over. Only two ribbons remained, pink and yellow. Grinning, Nessa uncharacteristically took the yellow one for herself, handing the girly pink one to Maddox as a small payback for popping her gum. "Suits you..." She teased, before glancing over at Bia. "You behind this Cardigan?" She asked, not sure if she was annoyed or impressed by her prank.

As the group began winding the ribbons around the pole, Nessa was tempted to be a little more flippant as she weaved between the others, but a familiar face in the crowd stopped her from treating this as a complete joke. Her younger sister, bookended by her Northside grandparents, stood ten or so yards away, watching with amused curiosity. Well, Kendra was amused. Alana and Harold looked caught somewhere between judgemental and surprised to see their disowned granddaughter participating in such an event. Feeling rather sobered by their presence, Nessa turned her focus to the task at hand, trying to pretend she didn't see her family. Once the ribbons were all wound around the pole, the pinkette stood beside it, distractedly trying to catch a glance of Kendra again while the mayor spoke. She missed Vivi being announced as Queen, and missed the Mayor noticing the message written on the pole, only vaguely registering the round of applause followed by confused murmuring that swept through the crowd like waves. She definitely didn't miss Vivi's scream though, and her blue eyes shot to the stage to find the redhead drenched in an even deeper red substance. Was that blood?!

Another scream, this time in the crowd, followed by more panicked cries and shouts made Nessa turn around, just in time to see the growing fire start to make its way down the May Pole. The flames licked at the different colored ribbons, turning them black as they were engulfed, and Nessa just... froze. Her blue eyes were wide as she watched the blaze and suddenly she was in the auxiliary school gym with Victor as an unexpected fire broke out. The fireworks had gone off too soon and, judging from the loud cracks and booms that rattled the gym, much too close. The harmless prank had somehow gone awry and now smoke was starting to fill the room, making it hard to see and breathe. In the chaos, she'd been separated from Victor as they each ran to different exits to escape the building flames. Finding an unlocked door, Nessa called for the Northside boy to follow her, but when she looked back she couldn't see anyone still in the gym. At the time she figured that must have meant he'd found another way out, only to later learn that was not the case and that Victor had perished in the blaze...

A strong hand clamped down on Nessa's shoulder, pulling her from her memories and away from the fiery Maypole. Nessa looked over, expecting to see Maddox or even Ders, but instead found a livid security guard who was talking into a radio. "Yeah, I got another one of them." Snapping back to reality, Nessa tried to escape the security guard, but he was larger and stronger than her, and just tightened his hold on her shoulder. "Unless you want to add evading arrest to your crimes, I suggest you stay put." The pinkette wasn't sure trying to run from a security guard really counted as evading arrest, but the shock of everything made her compliant and soon enough the cops arrived to take her into custody. She wasn't the only one though. Dominic had gotten himself caught as well, and shockingly Bia rounded out the trio who were loaded into the back of a cop car. The once busy park had cleared out and firetrucks were making quick work of putting out the fire. Somehow, parts of the message "Death to the queen" had survived the flames, mocking them as the cop car pulled away.

Distracted

Mayday Fair

Outfit

_amaranth_ MadiRaiCat apolla

nine lives

 

[Desert_Blossom]

Maxim Drozdov

While not everyone seemed excited to be part of the May Pole ceremony, Max shared Dominic's excitement and was happy to walk over to take up a colored ribbon. Selecting the red one for himself, the Russian couldn't help but chuckle when Maddox ended up with the pink ribbon. Bia had rejoined the group after helping Vivi backstage, and before they began their dance of sorts around the pole, Nessa asked if she was behind them being volunteered. The Russian glanced to the brunette girl curiously. If Bia was, he'd have to thank her later. Being so far from home where his family would be celebrating together, it was nice to be able to participate in this festival as part of a group. Made him a little less homesick, even if he didn't particularly miss Russia itself.

Despite none of them being experts on what was required of them, the mix of North and Southsiders somehow weaved together quite nicely as they wrapped the pole with a braid of ribbons. He shot a grin at his friends as he passed each of them, particularly Bia and Lily, quite enjoying himself. Had he been sober, he would have been a little more modest, but alcohol tended to bring him out of his shell more, and he was hamming it up. Before he knew it though, Max had reached the end of his ribbon, and he was a little disappointed the fun was over. With perfect timing, the Mayor then crowned the festival's queen, and the Russian brought his fingers to his lips to whistle loudly for Vivi as she stepped forward. "Yeah Vivi!!" He hollered in support.

Unfortunately, Vivian’s triumph was short lived as the Mayor's next comment sent a ripple of confusion through the crowd. There seems to be a message written on the pole, folks. Death... Death to the queen. Max frowned, not understanding the Mayor's joke. It only took a moment though for him to realize a language barrier wasn't to blame and that the Mayor wasn't joking at all. There, plain as day, were the very words "Death to the queen" somehow intricately written amongst the woven ribbons on the pole. Max let go of his ribbon, stepping away from the ominous message as he turned back to Vivi. It was hard to read the expression on her face, but a second later a bucket of blood poured onto the poor girl obscuring her expression entirely. Her scream, however, said it all as it pierced the noise of the crowd. Max's stomach sank seeing his friend drenched in blood, and he took a couple reflexive steps towards the stage.

Max was stopped in his tracks though when someone yelled fire, and he glanced back to see the flames that crowned the May Pole. Chaos erupted as people began fleeing the area, and a sea of people began moving in every direction. Max heard someone call for the police and someone else on the phone with 9-1-1 to request firetrucks. Security guards began to move towards the group who was just part of the ceremony, so the Russian was quick to put as much distance between himself and the burning structure as possible. He continued towards the stage, moving against the current of people until he reached the edge of it. "Vivi, come on, we need to go..." He said, beckoning her over to the edge of the stage and holding up his hands to help her down. Maxim wasn't sure what was happening exactly, but the threat of the message was enough to make him worry for Vivian’s safety.

The stage had quickly cleared, the screaming girls disappearing somewhere backstage while the Mayor was ushered off by more security. For a few moments, only Vivi remained like a statue etched in red marble, likely in shock, and Max called again to her. "Vivi, come on..." He heard his phone chime in his pocket, but he ignored it, figuring it was just the Swansons trying to find him. He glanced over his shoulder back at the fire, seeing the pink haired girl being detained by one of the guards. Knowing that being arrested would likely cause him to lose his student visa, Max's pulse quickened with self-preservation. He couldn't leave Vivi now, but needed to get away fast. "We need to leave. Now." He added, more urgently. Once the redhead made her way over, he ignored the sticky substance that coated her skin and helped lower her off the stage. Putting an arm around her, he quickly guided her away from the hysteria. "Are you okay?" He asked, not realizing what a stupid question that must be. His eyes scanned the crowd, trying to locate the others, hoping they made it away alright.

Confused

Festival

Outfit

https://pin.it/6tJS85L

_amaranth_ apolla MadiRaiCat

nine lives

 

[_amaranth_]

Bianca

MOOD: embarrassed
LOCATION: Mayday celebration, then police station
OUTFIT: click!
INTERACTIONS: Nessa, Dominic
MENTIONS: x
TAGS: Desert_Blossom ; MadiRaiCat

Getting back in her working mode helped Bianca to get her balance back at least a little. She was a highly organized person who always had a few bullet points for her day and always followed a certain plan. This lunch, even though quite pleasant, was not exactly planned and so she was well aware how erratic her actions must have looked, topped with her bumping into a stranger. Lucky her, the pageant was starting soon and she decided to take Vivi where she was supposed to be. With her clipboard firmly in her hands and a pen to rule over it, Bia was back in her world and she was holding it in her hands.

Vivi called her name soon and Bianca went to help but the second Vivi went to join the rest of the girls, Bia had time to waste again. And then it happened. Her name sounded, echoed through the air for everyone to hear, alongside a bunch of others. Her head jerked towards the Maypole and she looked at it all confused. “Wait, what…?” she started but one of the organizers took the clipboard from her, nudging her in the way. “Go on, they want you over there. Make sure no one messes up, alright?” the older blonde woman told her and Bia nodded but her brain was still having difficulties to wrap around it. She never signed up to do the dance so how come no one told her about it? And when Nessa asked her if it was her doing, it was that proverbial last straw. Bianca snapped and she had enough of being Cardigan, among other things. Shit was rolling down on her from every side and she didn’t need new names.

“My name is Bianca. Not Cardigan, not anything else. So you better learn it and start using it, Bubbles.” she spoke to nessa. Bia knew Nessa was not responsible for everything but she just added that last drop to her already full glass and it overflowed. Bianca’s cheeks turned crimson and she was glad the dance began so her thoughts went elsewhere. Her hand held onto her baby blue ribbon for dear life and soon, she was focused on the job in front of her more than anything else. And so she never really noticed what the Maypole said. The first thing that hit her ears was an almost inhuman shriek from the stage where Vivi stood covered in a red substance. Bia covered her mouth in shock and her first reaction was to run over there and try to salvage the situation but then, then everything went to hell.

It was one of those movie moments where the main character becomes so overwhelmed that the camera turns around them as they stand in the middle of the mayhem and everyone and everything else flashes in circles, screams are muffled and just that one main character is still and almost intact. Until this very moment, Bia never believed one could experience it in real life. People were running around, trying to get away from the burning Maypole, the message on it was more than terrifying and the Queen was indeed covered in blood. The celebration was ruined and for the first time ever, Bianca had no idea what to do. “You’re in charge of the Maypole dance?” a harsh voice sounded by her side and when she turned to see who it was, she was staring in the face of law. “Wh-what?” she stuttered but the police officer was not waiting for her confirmation, just pointed at her “Organizer” badge. “You’re under arrest Miss, come on.” he told her and twisted her hands to the back. Bianca felt something cold on her wrists and only the realization of handcuffs brought her out of her trance. “Wait! No, you’re wrong! What are you doing?” she asked, all terrified, tugging on the cuffs but there was nothing she could do as she was led to the police car and pushed inside to sit right next to the pink-haired Southsider. But imagine her surprise when Dominic Deveraux landed in the car as well. “What the hell was that?” she asked as if they had the answers. The car rushed to the police station and since this was Briarwood, it didn’t take long. “I want to call my mom. Right now!” she demanded. “I have a right to make a phone call…”

“Your parents will be notified. Now calm down and sit tight, little miss.” one of the officers cut her off and Bianca took a frightened step back. She desperately needed her pills to think straight but those were back in her bag. And her bag was still in the park, unreachable for the time being.

code by low fidelity.

 

[_amaranth_]

Maddox

MOOD: confused
LOCATION: Mayday celebration
OUTFIT: click!
INTERACTIONS: Nessa, Anders, Vivi, Dominic
TAGS: apolla , Desert_Blossom

Despite all the doubts and concerns, the day was going nicely. Maddox was having a nice time, surrounded by friends, got a free lunch because whoever paid for that shit, it was not him and now they were off to watch some beauty bullshit. Well, he at least hoped there was also going to be a swimwear round so it would be worth it. And then he was planning on taking a casual stroll in the crowd and making some money to ride a few coasters. With the help of Nessa and Lily, he was convinced they were about to get so loaded it was almost unbelievable. The Northsiders sure felt confident and from the way they loved their events, they all were just easy prey. Maybe even too easy, providing no challenge at this point.

For a moment, he had his fun with popping Nessa’s bubbles but then he shifted his attention to the nerd over there. Anders said something about stress but MJ was not that interested in Ronnie’s twin to actually listen. What he did listen to was his name when he was apparently volunteered to do some stupid dance. “Wait, no. No way. I’m not…” But he never managed to finish as they were ushered to the pole. “Not the pole dancing I enjoy.” he grumbled and grabbed the pink ribbon. Nessa teased him and he offered her a fake smile, wrapping the ribbon around his neck, pretending he was choking himself with it. Even that sounded more fun than this.

When the music started, he rolled his eyes but fell in with the group and worked on weaving the ribbon around. “How long does this take?” he called out but no one seemed to hear him so he just huffed in annoyance and went on until it was finally done. “You, guys, do some weird shit for fun.” he mocked and patted his back pockets for his cigarettes, bringing one to his lips. “Yo, dude, light me up.” he asked Anders as his lighter remained in the car. But he only managed to take two or three drags when Vivian screamed on the stage as the red liquid, very much blood-like, covered her head to toes. “And they say we are sickos.” MJ commented and it took him a moment to realize it was not a part of the program. Moreover, someone yelled something about fire and a message on the pole. And when the blonde man turned to look at the message, he knew it was game over.

“Come on, let’s get out of here.” he tapped Nessa and darted off, fully convinced his pink-haired friend with benefits was right after him. MJ ran straight towards Ders’s car and only then turned around to help Nessa get in. However, she was not there and also nowhere to be seen. “Dude! Where are the others? Where’s Nessa and Lily?” he yelled but neither of the girls were in sight. Maddox froze and tried to make something of the scene in front of him. “Where are they, man? What the fuck is happening?” he asked and hit the roof of the car violently. “Fucking Northsiders. This is some sick shit that’s happening. Fuck these events, dude, for real. Come on, we gotta find them and get out of here. They’re gonna blame it on us anyway, better if they don’t see us lurking.”

code by low fidelity.

 

[MadiRaiCat]

location

Maypole -> Parking Lot.

mentions

Dom, Vivi, Nessa ( Desert_Blossom ), Bia.

interactions

Ders ( apolla ), MJ ( _amaranth_ ).

outfit

x, x.

Liliana

southside

Liliana could feel several pairs of eyes on her, watching her as she moved around the maypole with the others, The more they would their ribbons, the closer and closer they got together. The hairs on the back of her neck felt like they were standing on end, her heart was racing. This wasn't what she wanted, not even close. Anxiety began to overtake her and, for a moment, she thought she might fall into a full-blown panic attack. Lily was the type of person who preferred to be invisible, introverted and shy and unsure of her surroundings. She wasn't a fan of spontaneity or unplanned situations. And this was certainly all of those things. The brunette couldn't help but feel concerned like something was out of place. The group that had been announced to do the Maypole Ceremony was the same group from Dominic's party, with Vivi once again at the center of attention. Something about this wasn't right. But before she could say anything, all hell broke loose.

Lily tucked her ribbon in with the others, just as the mayor read the message on the pole. It was etched into the ribbon perfectly, embroidered, and planned so that once the ribbons were wrapped, the message revealed itself. Death to the queen. What did that mean? A loud pop sounded from the top of the maypole, and sparks began to fly. The ribbons were made of something not even remotely fireproof, and caught up in flames almost instantaneously. Lily flinched, looking up with wide dark brown eyes. For a moment, she was lost, remembering that night in the gym as the fireworks began to uncontrollably go off, how she was sure she would lose her life that night. Her heart began to race, and she took a few steps back. Turning to look back at the stage, she saw Vivi drenched in something red like directly out of the movie, Carrie. But that was the last she saw of the redhead before the crowd began to panic, running about aimlessly.

All of that together, and it wasn't lost on Lily that the blame would be put on the Southsiders in the group, as it always was. She tried to find Nessa to have someone to escape with but froze when she saw her friend led away by a man in uniform. Across the way, she heard a shout from Dom, who most certainly wasn't letting the cops take him without a bit of a fight. In any other scenario, that would be admirable to the Southsiders. But, for now, he was just resisting arrest and making the whole tense situation that much worse. She turned and blended in with the crowd, making herself seem as nondescript as possible as she moved towards the parking lot. Unfortunately, her motorcycle was blocked by a line of cop cars, and the only familiar faces she found were MJ and Anders. Not necessarily the two people she wanted to be with at the moment. But she didn't necessarily have a choice. Lily made her way over to their car, pausing by the back passenger door. "Nessa was taken by the cops with Bia and Dom. We've got to get out of here and to somewhere with WiFi. Fast."

nine lives

 

[MadiRaiCat]

location

Maypole -> Cop Car.

mentions

Vivi ( apolla ).

interactions

Nessa ( Desert_Blossom ), Bia ( _amaranth_ ).

[/comment]outfit

x.

Dominic

northside

Traditions were important in the Devereaux family. Holidays were times for them to all get together and spend quality time with one another. Those days, they were the only times when they were all under the same roof anymore. Gwen was across the country at college and rarely returned home. And his parents were almost always on some sort of 'business trip' labeled vacation, traveling the world. At any given moment, Dom was usually the only Devereaux still in town. The Maypole Ceremony was therefore important to him, though not as much as some other holidays. None of his family returned home. But at least he had Vivian to spend time with, his sister from another mister so to speak. It was ironic, some of the tabloids that tried to blow their friendship out of proportion and claim that it was anything but platonic. He was an heir, after all. His love life was somehow important to the masses. But they were just friends, nothing more.

The ribbons closed around the pole, revealing an intricate design that Dom had never seen before. What was that? His brows furrowed, blue eyes attempting to read the intricate cursive. "Death to...the...queen?" he said to himself, just as the mayor read it aloud. What the hell did that mean? He didn't have time to ponder it long before Vivian's scream filled the air. Turning to look back at her on stage, Dominic was ready to take down anyone who stood in his way if she was hurt. Instead, he found her drenched head to toe in something thick and red. Dominic began pushing his way through the crowd towards the stage. But a fire started atop the maypole and people began to run in all different directions. He was pushed and shoved around, barely able to break through the crowd only to realize that Vivi was no longer on stage. He looked around frantically for her but instead was met with the steely gaze of a police officer.

Dominic turned to go the other way but ran directly into another cop, his sunglasses doing little to hide the annoyed anger on his face. "Mr. Devereaux, fancy seeing you here," the deputy said, and Dom internally groaned. This wasn't his first run-in with the law, and it most certainly wouldn't be his last. He was known for throwing loud parties, getting into fights at bars, and flaunting his wealth. All in all, the tabloids didn't paint a very good picture of him, regardless of the type of person he actually was. "Officer. I was just taking my leave," Dom said smoothly, attempting to move past him. But the cop grabbed him just above the elbow. "You're not going anywhere, Devereaux. Do you think I didn't hear about you and your hooligan friends wrapping the maypole? You all are responsible for this, no doubt about it," he answered, his tone hard. No, this couldn't be happening.

"We had nothing to do with that," the brunette heir explained, narrowing his eyes as he yanked his arm from the officer's hand. "You obviously know who I am, what family I belong to. You better take a step back," he spat back, but a rough shove pushed him to his knees, yanking his arms behind his back and wrapping his wrists in metal. The officer leaned down. "Of course, I know who you are. Maybe some time in jail will finally teach your punk ass a less," he answered quietly so only Dom could hear. The other officer pulled him back to his feet and pushed him towards the row of flashing cops cars, directing him to the back seat alongside Nessa and Bia. It wasn't long before the car pulled away and they were on their way to the station. Glancing from Nessa to Bia, he quietly said, "Don't tell them anything until we talk to some lawyers." He had never been to jail before. But if this was that strange texter's doing, he might be closer to behind bars than he originally thought.

nine lives

 

[apolla]

Things quickly went from bad to worse. While granted, lunch had been nice considering her company, Vivi couldn't help the feeling of foreboding that appeared within her as the day went on. It wasn't a foreign feeling to her, and she was used to shoving the feeling aside. Plus, with the maypole ceremony looming over them as well, she found it much easier to focus on that instead. The ceremony itself was beyond boring, but she'd suffered through worse and would likely do so again. Only she had no idea just how bad things could and would get. Death to the Queen. The message felt like a knife in her gut, but she had little time to focus on that before the top of the pole caught on fire, and a sticky red substance cascaded down onto her.

Her scream drew alot of attention her way, but honestly, the fire was more frightening as the ribbons caught flame as well. People panicked, but through the pandemonium, Vivi couldn't move. She could only lift her hands in front of her, trying to see through the droplets of red dripping down from her hair and face into her eyes. Another shriek left her and she took a step backwards, only she had no idea where to go. Even though her hands were covered in the stuff as well, she tried to rub at her eyes to clear her vision. Biting back a sob, she only looked up when she heard someone calling her name. "Vivi, come on, we need to go..." Through the haze, she thought she recognized Max, but she couldn't be sure. "Max?" She whispered, using her fingers to rub her eyes again, stepping closer.

Now she could see his outstretched hands, but the drop from the stage still seemed so far, and the shock coursing through her kept her frozen. He called to her again, and a moment later she snapped out of it, nodding. "Right." She reached for his hands, trying to ignore the red shit she was covered in. She had no idea what it was, and she really didn't want to think about what it could be. She had seen Carrie, after all. Swallowing heavily, she let Max help her down off the stage. Not caring about the red stuff or maybe too worried about everything else to focus on it, he draped an arm around her shoulder, trying to get her towards the parking lot. "No I'm not okay!" She snapped in response to his question, though it was less out of anger at him and more out of the shock she still felt.

Even with the stress of everything going on, Vivi still had the sense about her to remember that her bag was backstage. She lead Max in that direction, snatching it up before they started for the lot again. Luckily, they reached the parking lot without getting busted by a uniform. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?" She half hissed, half whispered as she looked over at Max. "My dad... he's going to fucking think I did this on purpose..." She whined, hanging her head. People were still bustling all around them, jostling her and Max, but even through all the noise she heard a voice calling out to them. Her head snapped up, and she recognized the three people in the car. "Get the hell in, or we're leaving without you. Now!" Ders snapped at them, and though Vivian wanted to tell him to go to hell, somehow she and Max ended up squeezed in the back as Anders sped away from the festival.

vivi

pretty girl
by [maggie lindemann]

interactions:
dom; bia; maddox; anders; max

tags:
MadiRaiCat Desert_Blossom _amaranth_

mood:
shocked

outfit:
Click!

º º code by ditto º º

 

[apolla]

Anders didn't have to even wonder if the cops were going to try and fault him and the others for this. He already knew they were going to. He should have never taken that ribbon, despite the fact that someone with a fucking microphone had called his name. So what? He could have refused. Should have refused. But he hadn't, and now he knew he was going to have a target on his back, same as the others. Cursing, he started towards his car, figuring the others would follow. But when they reached his car, it was only MJ with him. "Where the fuck are the others?" He snapped, digging his keys out of his pocket as he stood by the driver's side door. MJ wanted to know the same, but the only one of the others who appeared was Lily, bringing bad news with her.

"Fuck!" Ders slammed his fist onto the top of his car, sliding into the seat and thrusting the keys into the ignition. He started the car and once the other two were in, started to drive, making sure that even in his rage he didn't run anyone over. Didn't need an even bigger target on his back. He hadn't even gotten a mile before he recognized Max and a blood-drenched Vivi, and he had a split second to make a decision. Slamming on the brakes, he rolled down MJ's window, leaning closer to him so he could yell out of the window. "Get the hell in, or we're leaving without you. Now!" Somehow, yet again, they were all involved in this and Anders wanted to get to the bottom of it. To do that, he had a feeling that they needed to be together, even if the redhead was covered in blood. Or something eerily similar.

"Sit on this." He snapped, throwing an old shirt down in the back for Vivi when she and Max started to climb in. Turning back to the front, he pressed on the accelerator as soon as the door was shut. Lily's words about getting somewhere with wifi were still in his brain, and his gaze flicked back to the girl. "The hell you need wifi for right now?" He muttered, not really needing an answer. He sped towards one of the cafe's in town, ending up almost sideways in the parking spot as he stopped. For a moment, he didn't move, not even as the others started piling out of the car. Twisting in his seat again, he looked directly at Vivi. "You stay here." He didn't have to say why, but he did add something else. "And don't even think of going anywhere. And don't get that shit on my seats."

Then he got out of the car as well, heading inside with the others. There was a row of computers in the back, and though Anders wanted to make a beeline for them, he forced himself to try and remain calm. The cafe wasn't that busy, since most people had been at the festival, but he still didn't want to take any chances or look suspicious. Glancing at the others, he tucked his hands into his pockets and started in the direction of the computers, gesturing for Lily to take a seat since she was the one who wanted wifi. "Well? What are we here for?" He sank into one of the other seats, running a hand through his hair. His knee was dipping up and down as he shook his foot, obviously feeling anxious as he looked around again, even outside as if to make sure his car was still there.

anders

lowlife
by [theory of a deadman]

interactions:
MJ; Max; Bia; Dom; Vivi

tags:
_amaranth_ ; Desert_Blossom MadiRaiCat

mood:
himself

outfit:
Click!

º º code by ditto º º

 

[Desert_Blossom]

Vanessa Hill

This wasn't the first time Vanessa Hill had found herself in the back of a cop's car, though it was the first time she'd found herself in the back of one beside two Northsiders. Turning a little in her seat, Nessa glanced out the rear window at the now nearly vacant park. There was no sign of anyone else being loaded into a second cop car, so the others must have gotten away. Good for them. Letting out a breath that was equal parts relief for her friends and annoyance for herself, the pinkette turned back around to face forward. She was still a little in shock at how quickly events had unfolded, and was trying to use that to her advantage to remain calm. Fear of being locked up hadn't set in yet, but it was only a matter of time before reality hit. And hit hard.

What the hell was that? Hearing Bia's question, Nessa hardly spared her a glance. The brunette's earlier outburst had hardly done anything to endear the pinkette to her, and it wasn't like she had any more answers than the Northsider. Afterall, Bia was the one in charge of the event. If she was in the dark it was safe to say the other two in the back seat of the cruiser were as well.

Her blue eyes flicked over to Dom when he spoke next, nodding in understanding when he said not to tell the authorities anything until they had lawyers. This wasn't her first rodeo, and Nessa knew that the cops had a real talent for twisting words out of context when it suited them. Especially when Southsiders were in the hot seat. Though, she let out a dry laugh at the thought of Dom and Bia's high class lawyers compared to whatever attorney was appointed to her. Even though she was innocent, for this charge at least, the fear that she would end up being the scapegoat after Dom and Bia were sprung by their lawyers did start to creep in. Considering her past, arson was not something she wanted on her record. It might make some people start connecting the dots of her fiery past.

Once they arrived at the police station, the trio was led to a holding cell before being locked in. Knowing the drill, Nessa just crossed her arms over her chest and walked to the back wall, sitting down on the bench in the cleanest spot she could find. Unsurprisingly, Bia wasn't taking well to the situation. I want to call my mom. Right now! I have a right to make a phone call... Had Nessa talked back that way, she imagined the officer wouldn't have responded quite as cordially as he did to the Northside girl, though even the relatively tame reply caused the brunette to take a frightened step back.

Even if Bia had snapped at her over a nickname, Nessa didn’t want her to be intimidated by the cops. "The more you try to boss them around, the less likely you'll get what you want..." The pink haired woman sighed, crossing one leg over the other to mirror her arms. "It's a power trip for them. They get off on your protests." She continued, as if the officers weren't right there. "Just try to take a few breaths, I'm sure it will all be okay..." The pinkette suggested, mentally adding for you at least, in an attempt to comfort the Northsider.

Maybe if Nessa had someone to call, she'd put up a fight too, but there was no family member that would be running to her rescue. In any other case, she'd consider calling one of her Southside friends, but even if they did scrounge up bail, they could hardly march down to the station to spring her. There were probably cops out right now looking for people who matched the description of the other May Pole dancers. It wouldn't do to hand deliver Lily, MJ or Ders to the authorities. All the pinkette could do right now was pray for a miracle or that the real culprit was caught. Though that investigation could take weeks. Fuck.

Trying to distract herself, she looked to Dominic who had seemed to have a level head on him at least in the car. "Is this your first time too, Devereaux?" She asked. Dom had a reputation of getting into a bit of trouble now and then with the cops, but as far as she knew, it was mostly just for parties. Nothing arrest worthy. At least in her book.

Stressed

Mayday Fair

Outfit

MadiRaiCat _amaranth_

nine lives

 

[Desert_Blossom]

Maxim Drozdov

Asking Vivi if she was alright was a stupid question, and Max winced a little when she snapped back at him, but didn't fault her for it. Honestly, she could be handling this all a lot worse and the Russian figured she was allowed to let out her frustrations. Amongst all the chaos, it was rather impressive that the redhead had the wherewithal to grab her bag from backstage before the pair made their escape through the crowd. While it was convenient, it pissed Max off a little that he and Vivi were able to make it through the crowd without anyone stopping them out of concern for the blood drenched woman. Security had been quick to rescue the mayor, but someone else should have fucking come to Vivi's aid in addition to him. Especially after the threatening words.

With his arm around her shoulders protectively, Max pushed their way through the festival grounds until they were in the parking lot. What the hell are we supposed to do now? The Russian man glanced down at Vivi, wishing he had an answer for her. The Swansons were likely long gone by now, the well-being of their foreign exchange student not coming before their own, and it wasn't like they could hail a cab in Vivian's state. My dad... he's going to fucking think I did this on purpose... Max frowned at her concern, giving her shoulders a little squeeze. "How could he think such a thing? Why would you do this to yourself?" He asked incredulously, his blood boiling that this is what was worrying the young woman.

Just as Max was about to tell Vivian to fuck her father, not literally of course- though the American slang sometimes was confusing, someone yelled out to them. Turning, Max had never been so relieved to see Ders and the other Southsiders. Without hesitation, the brunette steered Vivi over to the car, sliding into the back first next to Lily and pulling the redhead in after him once Ders had provided something for her to sit on.

As the Southsider hit the accelerator and sped off as soon as the door was shut, Max glanced around at the group stuffed in the car. "Did anyone see Bia? Or Dom?" He asked. "The pink girl got caught, but I didn't see where the others went..." He said, before hearing Ders mutter something about getting to wifi. Not in a position to ask questions, Max just went along for the ride until they arrived at the cafe. As the others filed out of the car, the Russian followed suit, before hesitating when Ders told Vivian to stay in the vehicle. Glancing down at his own arm and shirt that was now covered in the bloody substance, Max grimaced a little. "I guess I will stay back with Vivi too..." He sighed, deciding he couldn't go into the cafe looking like he'd just left a crime scene.

Climbing back into the car, Max resumed his spot in the back seat and glanced over at the sticky woman. She was a mess, to put it nicely, and now the substance was starting to dry. Without much thought, Max pulled his shirt off over his head, and used the already stained fabric to wipe as much of the red stuff off his arm as he could. Once relatively clean, he offered Vivia the shirt to use as a towel to clean herself off a little as well. "Your dress is a lost cause, but maybe it'll help to get the stuff off your face at least?" He shrugged. Now clean, Max moved a little further away from Vivi in the car, giving her an "it's not you, it's the blood on you" look of apology.

"What do you think they are doing in there?" He asked, glancing towards the cafe as he drummed his hands impatiently on the back of the seat. "Fuck, I hope Bia and Dom are okay. Their parents will fix all this though, surely.... Right?" He said, as if trying to convince himself. He wasn't very familiar with the American legal system, but he prayed it wasn't like that of Russia's. "I mean, they're innocent! We didn't have anything to do with this..." He said, before turning to Vivi. "I promise. I swear I didn't know all that was going to happen..." He told her, feeling it should be said. "I don't think any of us did..."

Confused

Der’s Car

Outfit

_amaranth_ apolla MadiRaiCat

nine lives

 

[_amaranth_]

Bianca

MOOD: stressed out
LOCATION: the holding cell
OUTFIT: click!
INTERACTIONS: Nessa, Dominic
MENTIONS: x
TAGS: Desert_Blossom ; MadiRaiCat

Well, here’s the thing. Bianca Clayton rarely got in trouble. No, no. Scratch that. She never got in trouble. She was exactly the exemplary girl who always did the right thing, she always knew what to do and how to do it, people came to her for advice and she never refused to help if it was in her power. Sure, she had her flaws, but who doesn’t? All it took was one tiny pill joining her system and she was more than alert, more than ready to offer her helping hand. She never was the one blamed for anything, usually landing right on the opposite end or somewhere in the middle just like Switzerland. Trouble was simply not something people usually associated with the brunette and so when she was now cuffed, being led towards the police cruiser, a few people noticed it despite trying to run from the burning mayhem.

Bianca found herself in the backseat of the car with Nessa and Dom. Some sort of strange sick relief washed over her when she realized she was not alone and that at least someone she knew was there. The pinkette looked like she was barely shaken by this situation. Not that she didn’t mind or care but mostly like these men in uniform couldn’t even scare her. A part of Bia admired that because she herself was shaking. Dominic’s voice grabbed her attention and her eyes found him, literally hanging on his lips as he talked about lawyers. Their parents were also about to be notified and Bianca was also sure her mother was going to raise hell, especially since she was not exactly fond of the cops after they had failed to deliver Veronica’s body. Now the Claytons had a stone placed on top of an empty grave. And the cops wanted to arrest the only child the Claytons had left? Oh, hell to the no.

Once all three of them were placed in a holding cell, Bia demanded a phone call but apparently, it was not happening. The tone the cop took with her surprised the brunette as she was not used to people talking to her that way. She took a deep breath, or at least, she attempted to, but it broke in the middle as she was shaking, stressed due to a situation she was not familiar with. Her own anxiety was hitting her hard and the little specks of OCD were now starting to nag from the back of her head. Nessa spoke to her all of a sudden and this time, no teasing nickname came with her words. Bianca listened to her and nodded absentmindedly. It sounded easy enough. Just breathe. But could she really do that? Could she let go of her stiff ways and just not want to have it all under control?

She moved to sit down and leaned her head against the cold damp wall. Once again she tried to take a deep breath and this time, she filled her lungs with the air, exhaling it slowly with her eyes closed. “This is no coincidence.” she said quietly after a while. “He wants us here. Or she. Whoever the bastard is.” she added and felt dread crawling up her spine. Her own actions were slowly dawning upon her and the pictures of the past started to resurface. Ronnie’s lifeless body on the bank of that lake. Now she was closer than ever to her darkest secret being revealed and it was frightening. “I’m gonna be sick…” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut again.

code by low fidelity.

 

[_amaranth_]

Maddox

MOOD: anxious
LOCATION: Internet café
OUTFIT: click!
INTERACTIONS: Anders, Vivi, Lily, Max
TAGS: apolla , Desert_Blossom ; MadiRaiCat

What the fuck was happening indeed? MJ was used to mayhem and problems, somehow it always found him. And if he was not exactly the one to cause trouble, he was at least blamed for it without any sufficient amount of evidence. He didn’t even protest anymore because it was easier just to let them eat the cake and suffer the consequences of something he had nothing to do with. Especially when it concerned the Northsiders. Back home, in his part of the town, he was more adamant when it came to resistance but there he also knew the right people and justice was easier to be found than here with this rich judgemental lot of assholes, living in their gilded cages and enjoying money they definitely didn’t deserve.

But this was way too much. The Maypole, whatever it was, was on fire now, the queen was covered in blood which was yet to determine whether it was fake or real and three of them, his friend Nessa among them, were being taken away in the police cruiser with a new shiny set of bracelets on their wrists. MJ had no idea what to do and why this was happening. He understood why the cops would take Nessa, she was a Southsider, hence, suspicious immediately. But why Deveraux? And most of all, why the overall-wearing goodie-2-shoes? Nothing was right, nothing made sense and MJ did the only reasonable thing he could at that moment. He ran.

MJ and Ders were ready to leave and they very well could. They both were in the car, away from the cops, safe and sound basically. And yet, as it would happen, three more people were suddenly in the car with them. MJ got that they grabbed Lily. She was basically a family, considering she was from their part of the town. But why would they help the Russian beefcake? Selfish as it was, MJ didn’t care about him at all and the feeling was mutual. And since Max had Vivi, couldn’t he just take her to safety himself? The mean asshole part of Maddox Grant was slowly crawling to the surface and he had to bite his tongue real hard to stop himself from saying something he might regret later.

Lily asked them to go somewhere with wifi and that was exactly what they did. Max and Vivi remained in the car while the three Southsiders entered the café. MJ didn’t know three shits about computers, he was just a basic user. But something was telling him Lily knew what she was doing so he followed. There were only a few people inside, some of them risked a glance at three ruggedly looking kids but no one really said anything. “Wanna tell us what we’re doing here, kitten?” he asked, sinking in a chair. Ders was obviously nervous and for a good reason and MJ himself was having the hardest time to contain himself. “I should have brought the flask…” he mumbled under his breath, watching Lily intently. Just what did she think she could do from a snobby café?

code by low fidelity.

 

[MadiRaiCat]

location

Cafe.

mentions

Dom, Nessa ( Desert_Blossom ), Bia.

interactions

Ders ( apolla ), Maddox ( _amaranth_ ).

outfit

x, x.

Liliana

southside

Liliana hadn't always been an expert in all things computer. There was a time in her life when she didn't have any electronics, let alone a computer or something with internet access. Her parents barely had a functioning TV, one of those small tube ones that weighed a ton and made a weird whining noise when it was turned on. It got maybe three channels, and she was never allowed to watch it. When she was moved to one foster home after another, most of them had some sort of rules where the kids weren't allowed to watch the TV or use the computer. And the kids in the ones that didn't would spend hours fighting over what to watch. Lily usually kept out of those arguments, finding better solace in sitting outside and drawing or skating.

As a teenager, Lily began going to the library to get away from home. The other kids weren't exactly nice, and the foster parents were either apathetic or abusive. There was no in-between. The library was the only place in the seedy part of the Southside that she could go and not worry about drunk people, kidnappers, or assault. She felt safe there, and the computers were free for anyone to use. That was where Lily began to learn about programming and coding, though she didn't completely fall in love with the field until her computer science class at school. The teacher was Mr. Brown, and though the computers the Southside High School had were old and minorly broken down, he was fully supportive of Lily's interest in taking them apart and putting them back together. He was the first, and probably only, person to really believe in her.

It was a great hobby, but it was only that. At the time, she didn't see it was a way for her to get out of the Southside, maybe make something of herself. So, when her foster parents tossed her out onto the street on her 18th birthday, the brunette had to survive. Stealing became second nature and, as bad as she felt about it, the logical next step was to learn to hack. Learning those skills, it was as if she had a master key to every door in the world. Like walking into a bank vault and taking what she wanted, when she wanted. But it was wrong, and Lily knew that, hated it. Especially when people paid her to steal and look the other way. And so she only hacked when she absolutely needed to. Watching her friends get dragged away in the back of cop cars for something that wasn't their fault meant she needed to.

Ders drove them to a nearby cafe, something with WiFi on a local network that couldn't be hacked. While public computers were great for anonymity, they didn't have the VPN that would bounce the signal of what she was about to do across every major city in the world. So, the brunette led the two men who had followed her inside to a secluded computer set up in the corner, one that the screen couldn't be seen on any of the security cameras. She opened up the familiar black screen with green text and got to work. Characters shot across the screen as her fingers flew across the keyboard. She ignored the boys for a moment, though she did shoot Maddox an annoyed look at the 'kitten' comment. What was it with men calling her that anyway? After a few moments of silence, the local police station's intake system popped up on screen with Dominic, Bianca, and Vanessa's mugshots and names. Leave it to the government to still have a system built in the 80s.

"They haven't been formally charged with anything yet," Liliana finally spoke up, quickly scanning through the intake forms. "Waiting for a judge to sign an arrest warrant. I'll implant a trojan horse in their system, make it so that as soon as that does happen, the charges will be dropped and the case dismissed. They shouldn't be in there for longer than a few hours." Typing as she spoke, her plan was in place just as she finished the sentence. It was at that moment that the protective instinct faltered and she realized what she had done. Oftentimes, Lily worked under an alias, a hidden name so her clients didn't know who she really was. Anders and Maddox were part of a gang that she had done jobs for in the past, both physical and virtual. They couldn't possibly connect the dots, could they?

nine lives

 

[MadiRaiCat]

location

Cop Car -> Jail.

mentions

None.

interactions

Nessa ( Desert_Blossom ), Bia ( _amaranth_ ).

[/comment]outfit

x.

Dominic

northside

Dominic was the justice system. Well, at least the figurehead of it anyway. In fact, he spent much time conversing with them as a young heir to a million-dollar corporation. Sure, it wasn't great for the company image. But, as the old saying goes, all press is good press. And his parents were always quick to come to the rescue, bail him out of whatever mess he found himself in. The deputy sheriff wasn't exactly his biggest fan because of that, as he doubt anyone from the department was. Dom couldn't be positive, but those cops might have had his mugshot hanging in their breakroom, ready for dart fodder. Noise complaints, underage drinking, even a DUI. But he never found himself behind bars. Maybe it was because they were afraid of the power his name and family held. They could change the course of an election if they wanted to just by posting on social media. The Devereauxs were not to be messed with.

But, this deputy seemed to have some sort of chip on his shoulder. It was quiet for the most part, aside from Bianca trying to demand her phone call. And though she was correct, it was their right to have one, the cops didn't seem to care all that much. Instead, they were shuffled into a holding cell and ignored. Whatever those officers were made about, they kept it to themselves. Dom was a bit impressed at the conviction in the normally shy girl's tone. Dominic always knew that Bia was strong. Hell, the way she handled herself and life after her sister's death was more than commendable. But, she was never outwardly strong when it came to protecting herself. As to be expected, though, the Southsider of the group was the calmest of them all behind bars. Nessa took a seat on the bench, sassing back about the cops and completely unnerved by their annoyed looks when they clearly heard what she was saying. Dom had to admire that about her.

As much as he wanted to take a seat alongside her, relax, and wait for his parents to show up with bail, he just couldn't. This was the first time that the trouble seemed real, like this could go on his record and forever ruin his future. Money could make things go away, sure. But could it expunge a criminal record? And so he paced a bit, back and forth slowly across the cell in an attempt to calm his mind. He was Dominic Devereaux for fuck's sake. He got what he wanted when he wanted it. He didn't have to worry about money getting in the way. And he certainly didn't belong behind bars. Despite internally panicking a bit, his demeanor was calm, cool, and collected. Maybe slightly arrogant and spiteful. He turned his attention to Vanessa at the sound of her voice speaking his name, raising an eyebrow curiously. "Is it that obvious?" he answered with a dry chuckle, finally moving to take a seat on the bench next to her. "They can't hold us here forever, right? How long do we have to wait?"

nine lives

 

[apolla]

Even with things imploding before their eyes, there was absolutely no way Vivian was leaving without her bag. It had everything she needed in it, from her phone to her ID (not that everyone in town didn't already know who she was) to credit cards and more. There was no telling what she and Max were going to need from this moment on, but she wasn't going to be unprepared. So it may have impressed the Russian man that she remembered the bag, but to her, it was just her means to survival. Of course, she never would have expected to be in the back of Anders' car, sitting with him, Lily, and MJ along with Max. Someone mentioned going somewhere with wi-fi, but Vivi tuned everyone out as Anders sped away from the festival.

The blood was slowly drying on Vivian's skin, stretching it and making her uncomfortable. Tears filled her eyes as Anders drove but she just blinked them away, turning her head to stare at the back of the seat in front of her. Eventually, they arrived at some café, but just as she started to climb out with the others, Anders' words stopped her. "Fine." She snapped, plopping back against the seat with little care to his interior. It wasn't like she couldn't have the car cleaned for gods sake. Thankfully though, she wasn't left completely alone, as Max decided to stay back with her. She shot him a grateful glance, even added a small smile to the look. A part of her wanted to thank him, but the words died on her tongue before she could utter them. Pride was a bitch.

She glanced towards the door where the others were disappearing inside, though movement from beside her drew her attention back towards Max. "What are you-?" She started to ask, leaning back a little as he started to wipe some of the red substance from his arm. "Oh." Deflated, she looked down at her own arms and hands, where you could barely see a spot of her once beautiful skin that wasn't covered in the stuff. "Jesus." She muttered, looking back at Max when he offered her the shirt. Unfortunately, it didn't do much good, considering how dry the stuff was getting now. "Yeah. Maybe." Vivi leaned forward, trying to look at herself in Anders' rearview mirror as she scraped at her face. She did manage to get some of it off, giving Max a flat look when he moved away from her.

"It's not poison." She muttered, slumping back against the seat again. She shrugged at his question, though he went on before she could answer. "I'm sure they will. Not so sure about pinky though." Vivi flashed back to seeing the three of them getting cuffed, shaking herself to get rid of the image. At Max's next words, she looked back up at him, seeing nothing but sincerity in his eyes. "I know." She told him, no snark in her voice this time. A few minutes passed, and Vivi found herself growing restless. "Screw staying here." She spoke suddenly, not giving Max any warning before she climbed out of the car and marched into the coffee shop. She looked around before she spotted them, ignoring the people looking her way as she strode in their direction. "Can we go already? We can go to my house. Dad won't be home. I need a shower, and we need to talk about-"

vivi

pretty girl
by [maggie lindemann]

interactions:
dom; bia; maddox; anders; max

tags:
MadiRaiCat Desert_Blossom _amaranth_

mood:
shocked

outfit:
Click!

º º code by ditto º º

 

[apolla]

Anders hated the feeling of anxiety welling up inside him. He didn't do well with the feeling, nor did he do well with getting lost in his own thoughts. He tried to focus on what was going on around him, but he kept slipping back into his mind, only to snap back out of it a few seconds later. It wasn't like the usually laid-back, well put together southsider to look so distraught, and it sure as hell wasn't like him to feel this way. He was the type to find solutions, but here, he truly didn't know what to do. Lily seemed to have an idea, but he wasn't sure what it was. MJ seemed to be in the same boat as Ders, which only added fuel to the fire that was Anders' anxiety. Really, he needed to be out there doing something, not sitting here in a northside café, not doing shit.

Lily didn't answer either him or MJ for a moment, though Anders didn't miss the look she shot MJ. It brought a ghost of a smirk to his face for the briefest of seconds, but then she just kept clicking the keys, and he felt his anxiousness return. He sighed heavily, leaning forward, his knee still bouncing up and down as he stared holes into the side of her head. But finally, she stopped typing, telling the boys that their friends hadn't been charged with anything yet. "How do you...?" He started to ask, his voice trailing off as she kept talking, telling them about her plan. His eyes widened, his knee stopping its movements as he realized just what she was doing. It was really advanced shit, the type of shit that he only knew of one other person to be able to do. But it couldn't be... right?

Before he could even cement the thought in his mind, the door to the shop burst open. Anders didn't bother biting back his groan as Vivian marched in, right over to them. Pushing himself to a standing position, he narrowed his eyes at her as she began to bark orders. But she didn't stop, not until he moved in front of her suddenly, cutting her off with his own words. "Will you shut up?" He hissed, anger blazing in his eyes as he met her own fiery gaze. "I told you to stay in the car." He muttered, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair. "Can't even follow basic fuckin' directions..." Growling, he turned back to the other two, blowing out a sharp breath. The last thing he wanted to do was go play sleepover at her fucking mansion, but despite her bad timing, she did have a point.

"We done here?" He asked, not waiting for an answer before he turned and headed outside. Grabbing his smokes from his car, he placed one between his lips. Lighting the other end, he sucked in smoke and nicotine like it was air, blowing out a steady stream of smoke a moment later. He got into the driver's seat a moment later, waiting for the others to join him before he spoke. "Death to the queen." He muttered, his eyes flicking towards Vivian. "And how the hell do we know this wasn't some publicity stunt by the queen herself?" Twisting in his seat, he turned to look at the blood-soaked woman. Giving her a onceover, he just sighed again, shaking his head as he turned back around and started the car again, muttering under his breath. "Guess even you wouldn't cover yourself in blood."

anders

lowlife
by [theory of a deadman]

interactions:
MJ; Max; Bia; Dom; Vivi

tags:
_amaranth_ ; Desert_Blossom MadiRaiCat

mood:
himself

outfit:
Click!

º º code by ditto º º