maviscampbell

[maviscampbell]

"Oh, I remember. And you know why — I thought to myself, 'ha ha, that's gotta be an exaggeration,' but then I thought, 'maybe it's not, since this town has a new party to attend every other day.' I even kept the dress I wore to yours just in case."

Mavis had opted for something a little less...nostalgic for this, though, and was glad for it. She'd been happy to lean into that vibe for Cricket's birthday, but she had the feeling that she'd stick out like a sore thumb if she'd reworn the same blue tulle disaster at an event where some people looked like they'd just come from Paris Fashion Week.

"Yours was better, by the way. And I'm not just saying that. This one is just making me feel like the popular girls are laughing at my dress behind my back. Again."

@cricketcampbell

for: @maviscampbell

where: prom

"Not to be all like I told you so or anything...but like did I or did I not tell you at my birthday that prom was very in right now?"

Granted, she hadn't thought it to be actually true back then, but standing there with Mavis at their second prom in six months, she wasn't going to turn down the sudden opportunity to have been right about something afterall.

"I did, by the way. Like just in case you forgot."

[maviscampbell]

📞 + mack!

@mackmontgomery

[maviscampbell]

📸 + cricket!

📸 – an instagram layout featuring your muse

@cricketcampbell

[maviscampbell]

closed: @themireyaxcardenas

location: under the sea prom

"You think anyone would be mad if I stole one of these floral arrangements at the end of the night?" Mavis asked, examining a petal on one of the ostentatious aforementioned arrangements. "I mean, they're definitely just getting tossed after this, right?"

[maviscampbell]

≻ how does your character show their reliability ?

"It's just about showing up when you're needed, I guess. Even if you're not asked to. Maybe especially when you're not asked to."

[maviscampbell]

Iris - What subject would your muse consider themselves an expert on?

"Season four of Love Island UK. I still rewatch random episodes sometimes. Just reminds me that humans are fascinating."

[maviscampbell]

Mavis watched, impressed, as patrons grumbled but dutifully started collecting their things and either shuffled toward the exit or approached the bar to close out their tabs.

She whistled lowly and turned toward Layla. "That's a neat trick. I'd steal it if I didn't know it'd literally never work at Oasis. I'd probably get a few creeps coming up to the bar taking that as an invitation to sleep with me."

@ponderosus

Starter: open!! (feel free to assume connections) @aurorabaystarter Where: The Reef

It's last call, layla has the routine down for closing time. Preparing her loudest voice to call over the crowd, repeating the same line she'd called every night since working in bars in her 20's. "If you don't work here, sleep here, fuck somebody that works here: finish your drink, pay your tab, tip me 20% and go home." Turning to the familiar face sitting at the bar, Layla quickly flashes a smile. "I'll make an exception for you tonight, take your time. just don't tell anybody."

[maviscampbell]

"I mean," Mavis hedged, eyebrows ticking up by degrees, "Put a number out there, man, and we'll see if it suits."

Maybe she wouldn't actually refuse the money. Why say no if he already seemed so eager? She'd always been good at playing chicken, and if the winner ended up with a lot of money, then she certainly wasn't going to flinch.

"Nah, you look great. You got the blue eyes, you got the good hair. And clearly you've got the money so. Shocked that you haven't casually dropped that you're payrolling a sugar baby or something."

@the-nelson-quinn

“ please don’t “cool mom” me. “ Nelson replied as the laughter fell from his lips pretty easy. He raised a brow at her next comment. His teasing mood still present on his face. “ what your Venmo? And are you sure you’d only want 500?”

If there was something about Nelson that always rang true it was the fact that he didn’t walk away from a bit of a challenge. And he could tell Mavis was probably messing around but he still loved to rise to the occasion.

“ As you should. I don’t know if my word means much but you look amazing and well under thirty, so I think you can hold onto that for a long time “ Nelson noted. “ me on the other hand? I hit 36 and it’s been all downhill. A year later and I’m seeing the wrinkles “ @maviscampbell

[maviscampbell]

"Uh," was all Mavis had as an initial response, her eyes darting up and down at the woman's form suspiciously. She was getting off of a long shift at Oasis, and the only consolation for the cocktail currently soaking her socks after a mishap behind the bar and the noise from the club still ringing in her ears was the wad of tips in her pocket. All she wanted was to get home as soon as possible and crawl into bed.

The beginnings of exhaustion, and the fact that she wasn't used to being approached late at night by anyone with not-weird intentions, had her narrowing her eyes a little.

"Depends on what kinda favor you're talking about here."

@safiyedemirel

open   to   anyone,   set   anywhere   during late hours   …. @aurorabaystarter .

You’d think she’d have given it much more thought when she’d seen the battery life on her phone depleting. Asked for a charger or even ended her night a little earlier to ensure she’d be able to make it home. It’s her fault for assuming that it’d be easy despite only being in Aurora Bay for a little over a week. It’s when she’s walking down the streets of the town do they seemingly appear foreign to her under the mask of the night. Safiye had only managed to make it a couple feet and about two (maybe even three) before letting realization fully sit.

She had no idea where she was going.

Admitting early defeat, the brunette back pedals back to where she’d come from as eyes scanned for anyone who looked like they’d give her the time of day (or night). “Hey, I don’t mean to bother you,” she begins, lips curling up in a sheepish grin as she spots a possible savior, “But you think you can do me a favor?”

[maviscampbell]

"Sounds like a good mom. Also, she is a good cook, and I won't let you convince me otherwise," Mavis said, pointing her fork at Paxton. She didn't feel like it was relevant to mention that she'd eat just about anything anyone put in front of her and enjoy it. It was kind of a superpower, if she did say so herself.

"We did get along," she confirmed, now poking a little at what was on her plate. "She was my best friend for a long time. My only friend, really. But, you know. We both got bigger and it got harder to share everything."

She was understating again, but she'd gotten good at abbreviating her life story and only sharing so much that things sounded more conventional and less like the clusterfuck that she'd actually lived through. No one outside of her immediate family actually knew all of the gory details, and she felt comfortable keeping it that way indefinitely.

"Oh, so you're like a cyborg man. That's kinda cool."

"I appreciate the good vibes," she said sincerely. "But I don't know. Back to Chicago, probably? My dad definitely thinks I'm a lunatic for doing this in the first place. I kinda...blew everything up before I left. Quit my job, blah blah blah. I'm kinda impulsive, if you couldn't tell."

@paxton-brady

“I do.” Pax ducks his head with a bashful grin. “It’s why my mom doesn’t know I sneak table scraps to my dog. She’d be heartbroken, but Duke loves it, so that should be enough of a compliment.”

Save for the fact Duke seeks out dead squirrels, his palate might not be one used as a point of reference for the level of Carin Brady’s cooking expertise.

Paxton's face scrunches, though he's not offended by the inclination. Spoiled doesn't begin to cover it with all his parents have done for him. He hasn't had to want for a thing in his life, and to argue otherwise would just put on display a certain brand of ignorance he can't even pretend to possess. "Nah, yeah. Even when my half-sister visited, she had her own room. And my mom still cleaned it during the week for her, just as she did mine."

They were both well taken care of.

"Did you at least get along with your sister? Because if that, sharing a room must've been a nightmare." One he never would have to worry about living.

Pax's smirk is tilted as he tries to fight it, Mavis's curiosity being a natural response. "Right. So, I'm lieutenant Dan'ed on one side. Except, it wasn't from what actually happened to Lieutenant Dan." And he doesn't own half of a Bubba Gump Shrimp boat, or whatever.

"But hey, more importantly, about your sister and all, I think it'll go over great. You made the effort to come see her out here, so I have my fingers crossed for you." Demonstrated by the way Pax holds his right hand up and does just thought. "But, because I'm nosy, if it doesn't work out, then where would you head?"

@maviscampbell

[maviscampbell]

What are some things you’re doing to help the earth?

"I threw my last cigarette out in a trash can instead of just tossing it on the sidewalk, so. Greenpeace should give me an award."

[maviscampbell]

How they respond to an anonymous love letter

"Google 'how to report a stalker to the police,' then probably change my name and move to a new city."

[maviscampbell]

"Ohhh, so you're not like a regular billionaire, you're a cool billionaire. So tell me, cool billionaire. If I asked you to Venmo me 500 bucks right now, would you do it?"

It was the alcohol talking, and Mavis would probably refuse the money even if Nelson willingly played ball here, but she wanted to see how far she could take this.

"I'm still closer to thirty than I am forty, and I'm hanging onto that as long as I possibly can. I feel like I'm genetically predestined for a mid-life crisis."

@the-nelson-quinn

“ As you should. I have it on record that most of us suck “ Nelson replied shaking his head with the humor clear in his voice. Growing up how he did he saw a lot of people that didn’t deserve their money and others that actually did something with it for the betterment of others. He really wanted to be the latter by the time he kicked the bucket. “ I’m not offended. Why do you think I pay for everyone’s stuff when I can? Hoarding money like some Hobbit adjacent dragon isn’t gonna do me any good “

“ she is pretty damn perfect isn’t she? I quite love a redhead myself too” he noted before smiling again at her comment. Not me either. I’m pretty sure as soon as I hit forty I’m fucked “ @maviscampbell

[maviscampbell]

"See, I like to think of it as another reason to rage against the machine. All of these rich fucks literally getting off on how untouchable they feel on a dating app, of all things. That's a different level of perversion."

Mavis hummed. "That would definitely cast a wider net. And it could work out cutely, like some kind of Nora Ephron movie. But then you also risk getting crazies before you even know if they're good looking enough to forgive their crazy for. I guess it's all a lose-lose."

@billieconway

"Invite only? So I'm a failure before I've even really gotten started, that's good to know," Billie chuckled under her breath, shaking her head at her phone and placing it face down on the table.

She then moves to place her elbows on the table and settles her chin in her hands as she watches Mavis brave the digital landscape.

"Coffee meeting a bagel actually sounds really cute," she has to admit, tilting her head in consideration.

"What if I just place an ad in the newpaper, would that be crazy?"

@maviscampbell

[maviscampbell]

Mavis watched Mack's shoulders release some tension and felt her own follow suit. She didn't know how much he knew about her history with her sister, but she expected he knew more than most and had been prepared for hostility accordingly (Cricket's best friend still kept her at arm's length, but Mavis was working on that).

She wouldn't have blamed him for it, but also wouldn't have entirely known how to deal with it. The fact that he seemed just as nervous as her, though? She could work with that.

'Again' set off a little bell in her head, but she'd already established that she wasn't there to wag a finger at him, so she filed it away to ask Cricket about later. Whatever had happened, clearly they'd been able to work it out.

She stayed quiet and let Mack have the floor, but it was easy to let herself be endeared by him, even barring the way that Cricket could never help but smile whenever Mavis prodded about him.

"You want me to like you?" she asked incredulously, the tentative relief from before now washing over her completely. She couldn't help but laugh as she leaned forward, relaxing. "Dude, I want you to like me. I mean, not to bring up the elephant in the room right off the bat, but I'm sure you know that Cricket and I have been...complicated. But—" she spread her hands over the table like she was literally laying down her cards.

"This is good. We're both nervous, we both want the other to like them. Nothing but goodwill here. Let's lean into that."

"Okay, so. I'm Mavis. I'm really from Florida but I just say I'm from Chicago because it doesn't make people cringe as much when I say Chicago, and I was there for a long time. I was a copywriter at an ad agency for a while, but I just say I'm a writer because it sounds cooler. Oldest of four — you know one of them, obviously — but my dad's kids are closer to Cricket's age, and they're awesome."

She thought that just about covered the basics without addressing the heavier stuff much, and happily turned the conversation back to Mack. "So first of all, I'm gonna need you to show me the 'will you be my girlfriend' tattoo. And then I'm gonna need you to tell me how you got into all of that. Tattooing and everything."

@mackmontgomery

"Thanks for asking me to."

Though it was his second time dating Cricket Campbell (official stylez), it was the first time he had ever had to do any sort of meeting the family as an extension of that. He's happy to do it, especially knowing what having her sister in her life meant to her, but happy to did little to combat nerves.

( He knows he can be an acquired taste. )

There was another thanks exchanged for the beer, taking a drink from his as Mavis spoke. Her words did settle some of that apprehension he felt that he was a couple of syllables away from planting his foot in his mouth and leaving a terrible first impression, his posture visibly relaxing some sat across from her.

"Hey, I wouldn't be mad if you were. If I ever fucked things up with Cricket again, you have full permission to shovel me to the grave. There's probably a dozen people who would lend you the shovel."

( And in Ziggy Kyeon's case, probably a gun. )

He instantly regrets his use of the word again, unsure of how much she knew about their relationship and how it had went the last time. He does his best not to get stuck on that, forging on instead.

"I'm Mack, I've lived here for like, half my life now. Damn. Sorry, that just kind of dawned on me as I said it. Uhh, I'm a tattoo artist, which is the reason for most of this," He says as he lets go of his beer bottle and rotates his bare forearms that were covered nearly completely in random inkings, "I'm the oldest of three. My sister rocks, my brother's kind of on his own wave a lot of the time but he's a good dude."

That seemed like a good time to shut up, so naturally he didn't.

"And I think I might be coming off a little awkward and maybe weird right now, I'm not usually but I just like your sister so much that I really want you to like me and I think I'm tripping myself out and forgetting what's likeable about me."

@maviscampbell

[maviscampbell]

Mavis: Who says it has to be in town? Mavis: Hmmm. Maybe if we put me in a wig?

Vera: See, and I'd be totally up for that, but is there another winery in this town? Vera: The mood I'm feeling, I think, pairs well with 'wine drunk'. Vera: We could get you a disguise. Really pull some Scooby Doo shit.,

[maviscampbell]

damask: ideal city to live in?

"I've always liked the idea of New York. Never actually managed to make it out there, though. Chicago's been good to me, but I just imagine New York as...that times 10. But I also got stuck on the part of TikTok that romanticizes the hell out of it, so maybe I'd actually hate it if I ever go."