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afaulkncr · 2 years

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001. VALENTINE’S QUESTIONNAIRE

interviewee: avery faulkner * / — junior, sociology, socialite

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲— 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞?”

he quickly got comfortable in the seat that the interviewers decided was best fit for the questionees. “avery faulkner, twenty-three.. sociology.” avery smirked, shrugging his shoulder. “i’m not one for labels, i like everyone.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬, 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡.”

the male chewed on the inside of his cheek as he thought for a moment. “hm.. i won’t lie i’d have to pick physical touch and probably a bit of acts of service. actions speak louder than words, or whatever someone said, right?”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞?”

“god i thought this was a quick question session not therapy.” avery looked over at them, looking down at his lap before deciding to answer. “probably just valuable time, i’m not a materialistic gift-wanting person per say. from myself, yes, but not others.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

his eyes looked between the few people sitting across from him, taking note on all of his answers. “i guess just that i’m not as bad as everyone makes me out to be.” avery shrugged. “it’s a tough world to be avery faulkner, so a few kind words couldn’t hurt.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

the man belted out a quick chuckle, adjusting his seating position. “not a school day, that’s for sure. probably doing some shit out and about - lunch, go to the city - before just laying at home for the night? chinese food? whatever floats my boat at the time.”

“𝐈𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰?”

avery narrowed his eyes as he thought, chewing on his lower lip. “i’ll take the truth about... myself. nothing i haven’t heard at some point already.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“someone who isn’t going to fuck you over or leave you hanging, i suppose. loyalty could be the word. trust. all those basic ideal relationship adjectives you can think of.”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“i love my dogs, i have one back home.” he smirked, being reminded of one thing. “however, there’s a certain someone who is getting me to like cats now a bit more than i have before.”

“𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: “𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞…”

“...more than just fucking and drinking,” he mumbled, not caring if the people heard him clearly or not.

“𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧? 𝐁𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟?”

damn, why so deep? he couldn’t help but ask himself in his head. “this got deep quick, didn’t it? i don’t cry, just a few whines here and there.”

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“if you’re talking about sex, then it’s just a fun way to pass time, if i’m being honest.” he shrugged, shining off a grin towards everyone. “i could go without it, go with it, so i guess you could say it doesn’t define my interest in someone.”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

avery couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his lips as he reached towards one of the free, heart-shaped cookies they were complimenting on the table. “i’m single every valentine’s day. by choice.”

#* / — avery: muse #* / — avery: task #affluencevalentines

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xxcalista · 2 years

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“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞�� 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲— 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞?”

“calista reis cerva” the girl states, pressing a book against her chest. she peaks at the spelling, standing a little on her toes, wearing gucci black pumps, “no that’s r-e-i-s, do write cerva? with a c and a v”. a nod, somewhat satisfied with the work. “i’m 22, history... uh heterosexual, female– what’s this for again?”.

"well...” she tilts her head prettily, swaying her body slight to one side, “i think acts of service most of all? a diamond necklace is cute but i’d like for people to be there when i really need them, not just when... it’s convenient, does that make sense?”.

“are we getting a gift from the psychology department?” a chuckle, fingers tap against the book cover, considering. truth is, the brunette has not the slightest idea. “oh you know what would be pretty cute? for someone to name something after me like, their favorite boat or that comet they just discovered. something like that would be nice.”

“well now all i can think about is a star with my name.” a playful roll of eyes and a pause, “i don’t think there’s such a thing as nicest, but i guess i’d like to hear that i’m the brightest part of their day...” cali muses over both the question and her answer, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “as for the doing... maybe learning my likes and dislikes by heart. i’d like that”.

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“how many questions are there in this thing?” she complains, though it doesn’t come out exactly as mean. a perfect day, she can’t think of a day she’s lived that meets said criteria, but the sound of the ocean sneaks into her mind, the memory of wet sand and a sunny sky– “a day at the beach”, she finally states with a small nod, “not rye’s beach, that thing is crowded and cold. but a private one maybe in the spring, tanning under the sun, somebody by my side willing to read to me" a shrug, “definitely with some watermelon and vinho verde”.

none of those options sound remotely interesting. “i don’t know...”, a hand mindlessly makes its way to the ‘c’ dangling from her neck, “future maybe?” except that is a lie because the truth about her future could very well be plagued with disappointment. honestly, what lousy options, why on earth would she want to know a truth about herself isn’t that what shrinks do? she thinks about giving a different answer, a more genuine one but that would be telling too much to a kid whose name she doesn’t even know “like what i’ll be doing in...10 years?”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“oh that’s easy”, the girl perks back up, hand still fidgeting with the diamond ‘c’. “sincerity more than anything”.

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“dog person”, she states quickly though she doesn’t really own either, growing a little impatient with the length of this mandatory interview.

a chuckle, lips pressed before beginning to state a reply: “i wish i had someone with whom i could share...” oh, this was hard. life? a hug? a bottle of wine? “sunday mornings i guess?” the picture of the possible scene growing warm, sunlight spilling through her curtains on a lazy day. sure, the girl nods locking in the answer.

and then she frowns and hugs the books closer to her chest, a wall between the pair, “that’s really none of your business, i should think”. the other then gives some lame explanation she doesn’t particularly care for, something about this being of vital importance and mandatory too. a roll of her eyes, “whatever. a couple of weeks ago watching my girl with lu” a truth, she rarely ever cried when anyone else was present. “and by yourself?” the other asks, earning a glare. “i did hurt my foot with the fridge last week so, then?” a lie, the answer should’ve been last night in her bed for no damn good reason but again, too much information she is not willing to give to a stranger, much less to an entire department.

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

cali sucks on her cheeks, sensing the nice part of the interview is done and dead. “it’s not... a priority” she lets out at last. when the other asks with curious eyes for her to elaborate a little more, she refuses with a stern shake of her head “are we done?”.

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

‘no’ she almost answers because the alternative sounds alien. and yet it’s the truth. she is single for this valentine’s day for the first time in what feels like an eternity. calista’s yet to determine weather she likes that little fact or not, “i am, are you going to ask me on a date?”

#affluencevalentines #–– 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝒹 𝓂𝓊𝓈𝒾𝒸 𝑜𝒻 𝓅𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓊𝓇𝑒 … muse ♡

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ahnminjun · 2 years

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“ minjun , 22 years old , business major , ” he answers casually before giving the second part of the question a little more thought . “ i like people , personalities --- so i’m not sure what to label that as . ”

“ physical touch . ” his hands join together with fingers laced as an example , a light laugh following . “ hand holding , knees grazing , twirling a piece of hair --- it doesn’t have to be anything obvious but just a little reminder of one another’s presence . i’m better with actions than words . ”

minjun stays silent on this one for awhile before giving his answer “ ---- honesty . ”

“ wow , you’re so cool . ” minjun laughs at this , a hand running through his hair as he shifts in his seat . this wasn’t exactly what he had signed up for . “ remember little details , i’m more about the small things if you haven’t picked up on that . ”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“ waking up on one of those houses over the water in bali , spending the day by the ocean and just being in the presence of people i care about --- fresh fruit , drinks , music playing . ”

“ absolutely nothing , ” he answers quickly . “ once you know what’s going to happen then you base all your decisions around that outcome . i’d rather things happen organically . ”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“ honesty , ” minjun repeats .

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“ dogs , i have one and he’s the best dog in the entire world , anyone else who says the same thing is lying . ”

“ a pizza with --- i’m not huge on leftover pizza so it’d be nice not to let any slices go to waste . ”

“ in front of another person ? i couldn’t tell you honestly , ” minjun says scratching the back of his neck . “ by myself was a few nights ago , i stumbled across a video about a rescue dog becoming best friends with a pig and you know it just got me at the right moment . ”

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“ as important as emotional intimacy , the two go hand in hand in my opinion --- if you want more than just a fleeting moment . ”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

“ by choice , yes . ” minjun knocks his knuckles on the table , pushing himself back and out of his chair . “ that’s all you need ? awesome . ”

#affluencevalentines

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danilobianchi · 2 years

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a big sigh, arms crossed with a silly pen hanging on to a finger, tapping against his arm– a sign of impatience or a time-tracking mechanism? it’s both. “danilo bianchi, twenty-five, pansexual, cis male”. the man studies the other scribbling away the answers, “next?” he asks. he would not waste precious time in this.

a second, then: “quality time”.

a raise of a brow, valentines themed alright. “a genuine apology” he states with a curve on his lips, a gift of sorts.

the word partner has always tasted bitter on his tongue. he adjusts his stance, cracks his neck to shake off the discomfort. short and quick answers, that’s all he has to do. “that they think i’m i’m a genuis” a smile, “i’m not picky, just get me a double expresso”.

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“a day in which i don’t have to answer your questions, for sure.” the other lifts their eyes from the pages in front of them and pleads with a glance, danilo sighs, “a day at the hospital just– browsing through trauma cases, diagnostics and a surgery maybe” watching. just watching.

easy. “what’s up with syndrome x?” the other looks up in question... again and danilo gifts him a pointed look. and yet psych majors demand to be called doctors. the other looks down, taking back the unasked question.

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“uh..” he scratches his chin, bored more than anything. “honesty and hard work” a shrug. best answer they’ll get from the minimal effort he’s willing to give this senseless study.

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“dog person” he has three of them after all.

a pause masked with the clearing of his throat. not a clue, is the current answer, "this pain? a fucking cake? i don’t really wish for anyone to share anything, that’s my honest answer”. another frown earned, a roll of eyes from danilo in response.

“with my dad when i was like seven” he answers with little hesitation. by this point the interviewer has learned to keep their questions to themselves, “uh... last month? from fucking anger at the blockhead i have for a brother. just a tear though, don’t worry too much”.

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

with little hesitation, “i’d say it’s next to quality time”. a simple statement of a fact, little-to-none banter attached to the words.

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

“yes” he asks, though his tone implies judgement on the question. “is that it? we’re done? good”.

#affluencevalentines #– 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔴𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔩𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔱 𝔰𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔠𝔢… muse ☽

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elysekotzen · 2 years

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elyse sits down, already looking at her watch, a tag heuer an old friend had given her for a birthday present, probably one of the most expensive things she currently owed and could call hers. “elyse kotzen, twenty-two, classics student, cis-woman and bisexual.”

she thinks deeply of this question and the most obvious answer should be receiving gifts. after all, half of what she was wearing was a gift or borrowed but she didn’t consider this a form of love, she asked and accepted them because she needed to fit it, to pretend. “Quality time,” she replies, a tight-lipped smile playing on her lips.

once again, her eyes fell on the watch and then her gaze lands on the bag, a bottega veneta backpack that mikel had given her for her birthday, then the beaded bracelet ava had given her before moving to europe , finally she thinks of the set of earrings she’s wearing, a gift from kasey. “this,” she says as pulls a diamonds Star of David that hangs from her neck. It’s always hidden, underneath her clothes. she tries to not look at it often as it’s a cruel reminder of what no longer existed. “my father gave it to me for my bat mitzvah.” She thinks of all the gifts she has received, all fortunately given by people still in her life, but this one, this one is from someone who she once loved and looked up to, now it’s just a memory.

she knows she shouldn’t take this so seriously, she shouldn’t put this much thought on it but she does. It would be so much easier to just ‘someone calls me beautiful, smart or funny’ but she has heard that before, sometimes not at all of them with honesty. “there’s not a specific one, as long as they mean it that already makes it the best,” she says with a somewhat sad smile. how ironic that the liar asks for nothing but honesty. “the nicest thing someone could do for me is love me.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

she thinks about the summer before her last year of high school, before she found the truth. it’s the last time she recalls having a perfect day, after that, it all turned grey with some glimpses of color here and there but it ended grey. a day in which I don’t have to be. She wants to say but she doesn’t, even if they’re a psychology student, this is not therapy. “going out and have brunch with my friends, spend the afternoon window shopping, come back home and cook dinner and end up the night reading a book while cuddling my cat, willow.”

will everyone find out who I am? If they do, will they forgive me? that’s what she wants to know, the questions that keep her up at night, that twist her insides every single time she spews another lie. “I would like to know if…” she feels her chest tighten, her throat closing. one deep breath, two deep breaths, three… “if I’m going to be accepted to do an internship in greece,” she says, a well-rehearsed smile gracing her features, concealing the sudden panic that envelopes her.

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

how cynical of her would be to say honesty? VERY. so she doesn’t. “empathy.” her pink glossy lips curved into a smile. empathy means that they would understand her reasons, they would understand why she lies and maybe empathy also meant that forgiveness was not a something crazy to wish for.

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“cats, I have an adorable cat named willow. she’s only two but she’s changed my life.” She doesn’t say that willow was a gift from his now absent father, sent to her as a way to smooth things over. she kept the cat, loved the cat; she didn’t kept in touch with her dad, she hated her dad. “I had dogs growing up and I like them as well, but I see myself more as a cat person.”

my true self. “my favorite book quotes,” she says with a smile bright enough to cover all her insecurities.

“last night watching a movie,” she says and once again she is lying. she can remember the last time she cried. It’s been so long. sure she has shed a tear here and there since but hasn’t let it become more than that. she has cried in front of other people to get with what she wants. she cried two weeks ago with ava, knowing that it would make her friend so uncomfortable that she would agree to lend her the money to buy an outfit for a party. those tears, however, were masterfully trained. shed on cue.

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“important but it’s not the crucial. I don’t like to be rushed and I don’t like to rush anyone. I believe it should take time, build a meaningful connection before being so vulnerable,” she says with a shrug, glancing once again at her watch.

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

“I am.”

#affluencevalentines #thanks to my dear ella for the graphic since im photoshopless #it only cost me to add a taylor swift song #if this sucks it's bc i wrote it on the notes app on the ride to the airport

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gaelballesteros · 2 years

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“What does that have to do wi—“ He’s been played. Dragged into this survey under the false pretense that this was a questionnaire about Star Wars in order to win an autographed screenplay by George Lucas. “This isn’t for the Star Wars thing, is it?” The interviewer smiles and shakes his head. Gael lets out a resigned sigh before answering begrudgingly, “Gael Ballesteros, twenty-four, game design student, cis-man and uh I don’t know demisexual?”

Brows knit together as he tries to recall some of the characteristics he got when he did his Pottermore quiz, something that could enlighten him to answer this. “Uhhh…” Why is this so hard? He just has to answer this question, he literally could pick any and they would buy it, okay perhaps not physical touch because in order to consider that he would have had to have any. “Acts of service, guess it’s always nice to do something for someone else.” Except murder, probably. Either way, it was through acts of service that he used to speak to girls back in the day, only because he let them copy the homework.

“Oh, if someone could ever give me the famous illustrator pikachu japanese card, I would die a happy man,” he says with a childish grin on his face. “I guess I could be a liar and say love or health but nope, that’s the most meaningful gift someone could give me because it means they like me enough to spend 200,000 dollars.”

“My extremely charming personality,” he deadpans before he shakes his head because he simply doesn’t have enough self-esteem to continue the charade. “Uhh I don’t know about compliments but I think the nicest thing someone could do for me is taking an interest in things I like? I’m not sure.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“Playing some video games, going to a nice concert and skateboarding,” he wishes he could say something cooler like going to a crazy ass party but the truth is that Gael is a simple man, he just needs a good game, some good music and he could call it a day.

He thinks about making a sarcastic remark about a crystal ball but he doesn’t. “If they were real I would like to know if…” he makes a dramatic pause for effect, as if he was about to ask a deep question like will I ever find myself? Will ever someone love? The interviewer looks at him with interest because maybe Gael is about to finally give him some depth. “I will become world champion of Catan someday.” The face of the one asking questions falls in disappointed, shaking his head as he writes down the answer.

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“Considering I’ve never had a relationship, I’d say just having one is what I’d value the most,” he admits bluntly. If you can’t laugh at your own misery then what else can you do? “I do value fun, sense of humor.”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“I’ve never had either and I have a feeling that cat don’t trust me and it’s mutual. Then again, I’m scared that if I ever owned a dog, he wouldn’t like me and would act like a cat towards me. That would be rough because dogs are supposed to love everyone, no?” The interviewer shrugs, confused and he’s regretting ever tricking this dumbass into this survey.

“My other Switch joy con,” he admits with a deflated sigh, “you know how sad is to play Mario Kart on your own? Fucking depressing.”

He wishes he was a tough guy and could admit that he’s never shed a tear in his life but that is a lie. “Gonna be real, it was a few days ago. I was watching YouTube videos and I’m having fun, you know, I’m watching live streams of people playing games, maybe one or two live performances of Nirvana and then out of nowhere YouTube hits me with a recommendation video, one that I haven’t seen since my Digimon days… The Rainbow Connection.” He takes both hands to the side of his head, simulating an explosion. “Rainbow's are visions but only illusions,” he quotes, lower lip trembling. “Fuck, not even fucking Fitzgerald could have written such masterpiece.”

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“Well, as a twenty-four single guy with no experience, very. However, clearly not necessary as I’m still alive, although not by choice, the lack of physical intimacy I mean.” He notices how his interviewer is hurrying up to write the answer, clearly fed up with this.

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

“That’s it?” Gael asks as the interviewer stands up and thanks him. “I thought you had another question there,” he says gesturing to the papers. “Nah, it’s okay man. I know the answer for that.” The interviewer says as he starts walking.

#affluencevalentines #this sucks #bc my brain is exhausted

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mikelcastell · 2 years

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There’s some excitement building up as he sits down. Selfishly, he liked to talk about himself, sue him! “Mikel Castell. Mikel is with a K and Castell is with a double L at the end.” He gives the interviewer a smile as he takes off his jacket. “I’m twenty-two, studying maths, cis-male and I don’t really have a preference but they have to be a human being, though. Just want to make that clear.” A chuckle escapes him as he tries to recall if there was another question. “Uh, what else? Libra sun, Capricorn moon and Sagittarius rising. ENFP, uh, do you also need my Hogwarts house?” The interviewer shakes her head, she’s had plenty of information already.

“That’s a tricky question, you see I’ve done the test several times but I sort of feel like it depends on how my sacral chakra is doing.” He could talk for hours about this and give them a more detailed explanation but as he looks at the time on his phone, he only has a few minutes to answer all the questions before his next class. “Long story short, I’d say my love language is either words of affirmation or quality time. I mean the other three are great, well, maybe receiving gifts is a bit materialistic if you ask me, unless they’re handmade then that’s cute and thoughtful. I’m not saying that all gifts are not thoughtful but ya—“ The interviewer interrupts, asking him to confirm what is his love language. “I’ll go with words of affirmation then.”

“A friend,” he says with a smile as he reaches for his phone, goes to his camera roll and shows her a picture of his best friend, Huxley, a ten year-old Golden Retriever. “My parents got me Huxley when I was thirteen after we moved to the US from Australia. He’s the best gift I could have asked and then two years later we got Harlow,” he says as he scrolls down to show her a picture of a Labrador. “Then Huxley and Harlow had puppies and we kept one of them, so this is Meadow, and now she lives here with me.” There’s the usual awww response from his interviewer as he puts the phone away, otherwise he will never shut up about this dogs.

Now that was a question he hadn’t thought about it. Mikel was all about give, give, give and hardly take. He tries to come up with an answer, really but all he can think are clichés are not true. He doesn’t want to hear that he’s kind, smart or good. He’s heard that in the past and while flattering they provoke very little in him, mostly because Mikel refused to take compliments. “I never know how to respond to compliments so I think for me the best way to compliment me is with actions. Spend time with me, have long conversations, watch a movie. I don’t know, I guess the best compliment is just knowing that someone likes being around you,” he states with a shrug and a lopsided smile. “I think that answer both of your questions.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

He shifts in his seat, clasping both of his hands together on the table. “Wake up, take my dog for a walk, have breakfast, meditate for half an hour at least, take a shower, read a little but usually doesn’t last long because when I get comfortable my dog begs me to take her out again. Come back home and play some beats on the drums, call my parents or my mates back in Australia. Hmmm… smoke a joint, watch a movie, take my dog out again and end the night with a nice dinner, meditate again, smoke another joint and read until I fall asleep. On another day and if the weather allows it, I’d like to go out for a swim or play some volleyball.” It’s more of a routine than a perfect day but he really couldn’t ask for much as he did at least half of those things on a normal basis.

“I’ve had my palm read in the past, same with Tarot,” he starts before shaking his head. “I don’t want to know what’s gonna happen in the future and I believe that getting to know oneself is not something that can be learned through a ‘crystal ball’ but through self-reflection. I also believe in fate, and I wouldn’t like to mess with it,” he explains with a smile before adding an afterthought, “though listen, I’ve had a big variety of drugs in my life and lemme tell ya that some of things I’ve seen are bloody interesting so really who needs a crystal ball when you can have some peyote tea, same effect but peyote is way more easier to get than a crystal ball. I’m just sayin’.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“Communication.” He doesn’t even need to think about this one, he knows that’s all he can ask from a person. Asking for honesty sometimes was asking for too much but communication, that was the only way to solve every problem even those in which trust has been broken. “You know how many problems people could bloody save themselves from if they learned how to communicate what they’re feeling? Like we wouldn’t even have wars if our politicians knew how to use words and how to transmit their thoughts and ideas better. Ya can have honesty, love, loyalty but at the end if ya don’t know how to express all that in words it’s worthless.”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“I think ya know the answer of this,” he says with a chuckle. “Although I do like cats, I like all animals even the not so cute ones.”

“Joint,” he winces at the answer because he can do better than that but it’s the first thing that comes to mind. “Nah, I’m joking, well sort of because that would be nice, ya know sharing is caring. Anyway, I wish I had someone with whom I could share my day. I mean, I could say life or time but at the end of the day I guess we all are looking for someone with whom at the end of the day we can share how our day was, no matter how good or bad it had been.”

His cheeks inflate before he slowly lets the air out as he thinks of this question. “In front of another person I think it was probably two weeks ago when I spoke to my mum on her birthday. It just blows I couldn’t be there and I guess I got a tad emotional,” he confesses with a sheepish laugh. “By myself? Yesterday while reading a book. I wasn’t full on crying, but ya know, I shed a few tears.”

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“Somewhat important but not as important as spiritual intimacy. I mean sure most people love to have a good fuck but I’d like to believe that more should come out of it. No disrespect to those who like to fuck for the sake of fucking but that’s not me,” he admits with a shrug.

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

“I am,” he says with a smile, “but ya know we still have two days to go and that could change.”

#affluencevalentines #me running against time #as i now need to do one more #omg

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mateoalcantara · 2 years

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a light chuckle leaves his lips at the psych student’s explanation of their assignment. it’d be easier for him to say no but he’s never been one to turn away from helping someone in need. “juan mateo alcantara — everyone just calls me mateo, though,” he explains, “i’m twenty-two and an architecture major.” damn, they really weren’t wasting any time getting to it. “uh, not sure?” he smiles nervously, “the connection with someone is more important i think. i’m a cis-male, he/his."

“quality time,” he answers with no hesitation, “i didn’t really have that — or any of it until recently and there’s something so great about just actively trying to spend time with someone. i always loved dinner time back home with the ackerman’s because we’d all just be there, you know? in the moment talking about how our day went."

mateo opens his mouth to speak, debating if sharing something so personal is what he wants to go with. the warm smile on his interviewer’s face encourages him that it’s okay for him to do so as they wait patiently for him to answer. “i’m lucky enough to have already received it. it was when spencer and his family adopted me at sixteen. life had been pretty rough up until then and they gave me the chance to start over. i mean, i really wouldn’t be here talking to you if it wasn’t for them."

he has to think for a moment, a light chuckle leaving his lips as a memory pops into his mind. “well, i once told an ex-girlfriend a really bad joke like roll your eyes and groan at how bad it is. i knew it was horrible but she didn’t have the heart to tell me, instead she said i was the funniest person she knew. i wasn’t but it was really sweet of her to try and spare my feelings. i thick the nicest thing someone could do for me is just be there, you know? sometimes all you need is someone to lean on."

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“i’m not sure,” he flashes the interviewer a guilty smile, “i mean you’ll probably think this is super boring but i guess just hanging out, not doing anything? like no care in the world, no responsibilities to deal with. yeah, i think that’d be fun.”

“you know, after everything that has happened, i don’t think it’d want to know,” he admits, “there’s beauty in not knowing where life will take you and i also think that’s part about learning about who you are. if there’s a crystal ball to give you all the answers it kind of takes away the excitement in life. sounds kind of boring if you ask me.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“trust. someone who will have your back. i think this is necessary in any friendship or relationship. someone who you know you can go to that won’t laugh or mock you, who will listen and at least try to remain impartial. someone you know you can talk to.” which was easier said than done. he was once trusting, maybe too trusting and it didn’t get him anywhere good in life. perhaps it jaded the man and as much as he wanted to trust those around him, there were only a select handful that he could truthfully say he had trust in.

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“dog person, all the way. i’ve never met a cat that isn’t evil.”

“my homework with?” there’s a clueless expression painted on blue eyes as he shifts his gaze from looking at the pscyh major to down at the work in front of him, motioning to the layout and sketches in front of him. a crooked grin on his lips as he looks back at them, tossing them a small shrug. “look, i really don’t know. life, i guess? that’s the answer you’re looking for, right?”

“is that really on there?” he questions with a laugh, a hand flying to the back of his neck as he scratches his head nervously. “i guess, the last time i cried was during last christmas. my mom, biological mom, was invited to spend the holidays with us. it was emotional to say the least, i hadn’t seen her in about four years. it was nice. the last time i cried by myself? i’m not sure.” to be fair, he wasn’t. while mateo liked to consider himself a sensible guy, he wasn’t the most emotional. well, rather through tears. he had a nasty habit of letting his emotions speak through his fists.

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“i think it matters as much as the rest of the intimacy levels. i’m not much for for it but i recognize that it’s important to have.” pda was always something that ensured an eye roll when he has the misfortune to witness it, being hugged or held wasn’t something he was used to either. though he knew others needed it and mateo wasn’t one to walk away from someone who was in need of a hug.

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

“yes.”

#affluencevalentines

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avaturnerszekely · 2 years

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She takes a deep breath as she leans back on her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. There’s a moment she considers lying, coming up with a fake persona but at the last second she just lets out a sigh and says, “Ava Turner-Szekely,” she starts before leaning to make sure they spelled her last name correctly. “S-Z-E-K-E-L-Y,” she spells out, purposelessly omitting the accent on her last as she knows no one gives a damn about accents in here. “I’m twenty-three, music student, female, she/her.” Boredom in her tone as she replies. It all feels like she’s signing up for a free trial website with all these questions. “What else? Ah, yes sexuality. Uh…” She is unsure how to reply to this question. “I tend to dislike people so I don’t really find them sexually attractive, unless they are 10 feet away from me.”

“French?” That’s the language of love, no? The interviewer looks at her perplexed as if she was waiting for the punch line and when it doesn’t come, she explains her what she means. Ava nods as the other shows her a website with the definition of each ‘act of love’, really not feeling a connection with any of them. “Definitely not physical touch.” She shivers at the thought. “I guess words of affirmation, in an unorthodox way. You probably won’t hear me saying ‘I love you’ or ‘I missed you’ but I’ll find a way to say it without saying it, ya know what I mean?” The interviewer nods but she knows she has no idea what she means. “If I bully you that means I like you enough.”

Now this is a tricky questions and she ponders on it for a second before she confidently says, “leaving me the fuck alone.” She’s half-joking, not taking this questionnaire seriously but then she notices the look on the girl in front of her and she knows that perhaps it’s time to make an effort and give her some useful information even if that meant opening up a little. She heaves a long sigh as she stares down at her hands. “My last name.” Her tone is quiet and her usual cynical tone is nowhere to be found. “My step-father officially adopted me and gave me his last name on my sixteenth birthday.” She can feel a lump forming in her throat and this is why she doesn’t allow herself to think about her step-father because it always ends up in tears. She clears her throat and rolls her eyes. “Next question.”

Fuck. This survey feels more like the start of a psychotherapy. She thinks but she decides to answer and get over with it as soon as possible. “Honestly the best compliment they could give me is none. I don’t like receiving compliments they make me feel awkward. As for what they could do for me, I know it’s repetitive and you think I’m just being a smartass piece of shit, but really, I’m serious, I just want most people to leave me alone so I can try to enjoy my existence.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“Not being bombarded with questions about love.” She shrugs and offers the girl an apologetic smile before she lists some things that could make a good day for her. “Sleeping, playing the piano, listening to music, napping, eating snacks and then go back to sleep.”

She frowns the second she hears the word ‘crystal ball’ and suddenly she wonders if this is some elaborated prank. “In another life, would Chet Baker and I would have been best friends? Would he be interested in a collab? Could I have helped him get over his issues and fight his demons?” She could continue with the rambling but just one look at the girl and she knows she has no idea what she’s talking about. “You don’t know who Chet Baker was, do you?” The other girl shakes her head and Ava rolls her eyes. “God, is everyone in this fucking place so uncultured?”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“Honesty and thick skin.” She doesn’t think it’s necessary to go into more detail but the girl stares at her with that stupid wide-eyed look and she knows she has to elaborate. “As you can tell I have no filter so they can’t be over sensitive because they would cry every time I’m around. I won’t sugarcoat things for them and I don’t expect them to do that for me.”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“Cats,” She says with a firm nod before shaking her head, “no wait, dogs. Hmmmm maybe cats. They fit my personality better.” The girl nods perhaps with too much agreement. “But I do like dogs as well. I like anything that doesn’t talk. So no parakeets.”

“Lunch.” She doesn’t know what else she’s supposed to say or add. “No, no, no, no. Cross that. I don’t want to share my damn lunch with anyone. So, I guess I wish I had someone with whom I could share my annoyance about this survey.”

How this went from cats and dogs to crying is an enigma. “That’s none of your fucking business.” Now this is the questions she knows she won’t be totally honest. Ava crying? Impossible. She had told everyone she hadn’t shed a tear since the day she was born and it really took one look at her to know that couldn’t be a lie. Except it was. If she had been honest she would have said a week ago when her symptoms manifested in the form of an inevitable cramp in her hand that provoked a small and short-lived tremor mostly felt between her middle and ring finger. More than being painful it was frustrating because it incapacitated her from playing the piano. As well she doesn’t reveal how she teared up two weeks ago during her Language of Jazz class after listening to the analysis of Kind of Blue. “I really can’t remember, it was long ago,” she finally says.

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“As important as doing taxes,” she replies before leaning forward to explain herself. “You know, I found it annoying but like taxes you have to do it eventually you know?”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

“Thank the fuck I am.” She laughs and realizes that it is the last question on her paper. “Alright this was uh a waste of time. Good luck, tho.”

#affluencevalentines #omg this took me an embarrassing amount of time and it's meh

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affluencehqs · 2 years

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𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨: 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞.

The psychology department is made up of a fair number of students, and as they stood in place at the end of each corridor, shoulder to shoulder, grim-faced and pencil poised, you thought of the final barricade, a last stand of a resistance army. What greater motivator is there than this assignment is a pass or fail grade? It’s a survey, the student who snares you explains, a few simple questions you can answer right here and now, and there’s no option to do it later. Through grit teeth, knuckles white as they clutch their pen, they explain it’s gotta be taken seriously, and you’ve gotta tell the truth, or else. The threat feels very unfounded, but it’s Valentine’s Day themed, and in the spirit of romance you decide to throw them a bone and answer a few of their pressing queries.

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

OOC information:

♡ the series of questions are being posed by a student in the psych department. please reply to them in character, as if your character is being interviewed. feel free to add more than just dialogue if you’d like, and be as detailed or truthful as your character would be! keep in mind, this is all in the interest of science, so the more accurate the results the better the research will come out (hint hint).

♡ you have until sunday, february 13th at 6pm est to post the answers

♡ please tag all of your responses with #affluencevalentines !!

#affluencevalentines #affluenceevent

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lorenzo-aleotti · 2 years

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𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨: 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞.

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚��? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲— 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞?”

“Lorenzo Aleotti. I’m 26, a chemistry masters student.” He levelled his gaze with the interviewer, eyes dark as blackened coal. “Is that necessary?”

He scoffs, though considers the question. He liked action, wheels churning and things being set in motion. He didn’t care about pretty words, not when his own where so often clipped, or gifts when he wanted for nothing. “Acts of service, I suppose.”

He was so goal oriented the future was nothing but a list to be checked, each stepping stone never savoured once hastily reached. The gifts he could think of were tasks accomplished, jobs done. It wasn’t the answer the student was looking for, so he shrugged. “A silk tie, in a tasteful colour.”

He didn’t care about compliments or pretty words— he hated wasted breath, and they were meaningless. His ego didn’t require careful stroking like others. “This feels very inconsequential,” Enzo replied flatly, growing bored. “The nicest thing one could do for me right now is ask the questions a little faster.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

He wasn’t that nostalgic either, but he still thought of his childhood in Italy, of the sprawling estate that’d he’d had full roam of. He missed late afternoons in the vineyard, eating fresh fruit and smelling the sweet rot of fallen grapes in the sun. “Anyone where I don’t have to teach.”

Premonitions, superstition, prayers said while fingers clutched wooden beads— he was raised religious, but it never stuck. He thought of the candles lit in his name in a chapel, his grandmothers’ wavering hand carrying the flame. The warm metal of the cross he always wore under his clothes felt heavy as he considered it. The future was temporary, and it would be what he made it. Knowing a version of it, praying towards it— it felt like a distraction from the final design. “I wouldn’t.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“Loyalty above all else.” The answer comes quick, easily. Relationships required trust, a business deal secured with a handshake, a promise spoken between two people. He didn’t trust easily, and he asked a lot of the few he kept close— never, ever betray him.

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“Dog,” he replied definitively, the ghost of something despicable visible through the fine cracks of his cold exterior. “But only if they’re mean.”

“Why would I want to share anything?”

His eyes narrowed with annoyance, jaw set at a sharp angle. A stupid question, and one he couldn’t remember the answer to. Likely when he was a child, small and still fighting for first place openly, tears tracking down a rounded face. The years that passed were a whet stone, the blade that he’d made of himself had a more sinister edge now. Letting out a sharp exhale, he said nothing until the interviewer finally moved onto the next question.

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

His mouth took on a wicked tilt as the question was asked, though his dark eyes betrayed nothing. He was cold, but not stone. “Fairly.”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

“As of right now?” He asked, an eyebrow inching up. “Yes.”

#affluencevalentines

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louisa-reyes · 2 years

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louisa looks up from her phone, hazel eyes meeting the other as she debates whether to be annoyed or amused by the sudden intrusion. deciding to go with the latter, a charming smile paints on her features as she cocks her head to the side, looking at them with dazzling hues. “louisa reyes, twenty-three, law student. bisexual, biromantic.” there’s a smugness to the raven haired beauty as she rests her elbow on the table and places her chin on her hand. “lavender. lollipops. louis vutton. lilies — my favorite scent, candy, bag, and flowers. if you want to get me any,” she winks.

this was a tricky question, the wrong answer could paint her in a light she’d rather not be seen in and considering recent events, that’s the last thing she currently needs. truthfully? it was words of affirmation. louisa longed for verbal affection. it was something she never received from her parents. while quick to reprimand and show their disappointment, an “i love you” or “i’m proud of you” was never something she received from them. as much as she hates to admit it, she knows it damaged her. “receiving gifts,” she responds. it’s the safe answer, the shallow one. the ironic thing about her answer is just how much of a contrast it was to how she actually felt. contrary to what she lead others belief, physical gifts were the last thing she cared for. she had a lifetime of them thanks to her parents.

love. she doesn’t say it, she wouldn’t ever. it’s not lost on her either what the theme of this interview seems to be and how it’s what she evidently seems to lack. perhaps if she was alone, she’d be laughing at the cruel joke life played on her — a girl who had it all, except for the one thing she wanted. “an academy award,” she responds simply, “i want the recognition of being one of the leading actresses of this generation.” she knows how shallow it sounds, it’s suppose to. better to keep up the image of being absolutely fake then for others to realize the girl is nothing but a fraud.

“they could tell me i’m the best fuck they’ve ever had.” perhaps a bit of a vulgar answer by louisa’s standards but god was it funny to watch them squirm, eyes growing wide in horror as they frantically scribbled something down while turning red. truthfully, she’s not sure, which makes the tactless answer easier to stick with. the reality of it was that what she wanted to hear wasn’t even a compliment, just a reassurance: that flaws and all, she was enough. “as far as nicest thing someone could do, i don’t know?” for the record, she didn’t. her actions, especially lately, have been less than ones that could be condoned and even louisa’s was lucid enough to realize that it’s not something that should be rewarded. “getting whisked around all over the world, would be nice, i guess."

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“oh my god, that one is so easy! it’d totally be shopping alongside the french riviera!” the pristine facade remains in place. she’s lived that day and it’s not bad but by no means was it perfect. a perfect day would be to disconnect, unplug and just feel the world around her away from venomous tongues and watchful eyes. in her dreams, she’s there. at the beach, all alone as the warm summer sun brushes against her skin, the salty breeze keeping her cool as she walks barefoot in the sun, enjoying how the sand feels against bare feet. for once, she feels alive. then morning comes and she realizes how it’s all just a childish fantasy.

what wouldn’t she want to know? the questions seem endless and considering how often she goes to kasey to get her fortune read, louisa’s need to know what the future holds is a curiosity that is never satisfied. there’s so much she wishes her could know, answers she wishes she could find, just clarity in general and hope that maybe if she did have a crystal ball, life would be just a little easier. “what?” she snaps, realizing she’d fallen into her own thoughts as the other stared, waiting for her to answer, “god, i was thinking. i guess i’d like to know if i’ll reach egot status."

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“loyalty.” perhaps that’s the most honest answer she’s given so far. if anything, it’s been the easiest to answer. the girl may be a lot of things but to those who she actually cared for, she’d walk through fire for. it’s a select few, mainly, well really, only friendships. louisa’s relationships were more like flings that latest months, if that.

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

she does a double take at their question, giving them a perplexed glance. out of everything they had been asking, that was one that seemed to be the most unexpected. ugh, psych majors. louisa knew enough to know there was more to this answer. “dogs,” she answers, “no, cats. ugh. both? i can answer both, right? listen, dogs are amazing because of how loyal they are. who needs anyone else when you have a dog? cats are great because of the power they hold over humans. they own you, not the other way around.”

the obvious answer felt like it’d be “the rest of my life with”. which considering the monstrosity of an example her parents had provided, it was something louisa hesitated to even think about. in no world did she want to end up like either of them. the rest of the answers she could think of, only made her feel just as pathetic: someone to share my heart with, someone to share myself with, someone to share my dreams with. ugh, she was totally going to need a bottle of wine after this. or two. “a good bottle of wine with?"

“why the fuck do you care?” the defensive question leaves her lips out of instinct before she realizes how guarded it makes her seem. “sorry,” she mutters sheepishly as she silently damns the professor who assigned them such task. there were multiple times the night of the house on the hill party that lu almost broke out crying. keyword: almost. “maybe during rehearsal? we were running a pretty intense scene where my character ended up having a breakdown — the director, cast, and crew were all there. everyone was bawling. it was an amazing performance.” that wasn’t what they were asking and lu silently hoped it sufficed regardless. “the last time i cried by myself …” she trails off, giving it another thought. she’s not sure but what is certain is that there was most likely a lot of alcohol involved. “last month?” a most likely inaccurate guess but louisa doesn’t care to elaborate or actually think back to the last time she cried all alone.

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

there’s something that makes her uneasy about this question, perhaps because of how often she seeks it and how empty it leaves her. somewhere along the lines during her teenage years, her motives shifted. it became easier to give herself physically to someone than emotionally. it was like a momentary high, feeling good at the moment yet by the time it was over, she didn’t even have the mental energy to stick around. “very. it’s sex,” she responds, “it releases endorphins or serotonin or whatever — shouldn’t you know this, you’re the psych major.”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

“why?” hazel eyes narrow suspiciously as she tries to hide the playful smirk curving on her lips, “don’t tell me this was a ploy to ask me out for valentine’s day?” the question was a bitter reminder of not just how single she was but how alone she felt. while the feeling wasn’t new the fact that she didn’t have someone to go home with at the end of the night was.

#affluencevalentines

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bambi-norcross · 2 years

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𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨: 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞.

“Hi, I’m Bambi,” she began, feeling a little silly under the pressure of this particularly pressing psych student. “Bambi Norcross— Charlotte Norcross,” she clarified, at the pause and scowl that the lack of surname and the use of her nickname had warranted. “But everyone calls me Bambi. I’m twenty-two, and a business student. I’m bisexual, and a cis-female.”

She hummed as she considered the options, asking the student to list them an additional two times and explain them in depth at least once before finally settling on an answer. “Quality time, I think. I just like small moments, you know? Little things that matter, like holding hands and walking through the park, or riding the subway together and listening to the same song.” Bambi nodded sentimentally, a little half-smile appearing on her lips, “It’s quality time for sure.”

“It doesn’t have to be expensive, I don’t really care about that, but I love the gifts that someone unwraps with you, and then they explain to you all about why they thought it was perfect for you. Or, experiences. Things you can do with the person who got it for you, places you can see together— it’d be something we could talk about forever, like remember when we did that?” She beamed, “A nice memory that I can treasure for a long, long time.”

“I think the nicest thing someone can say to you is that they like to be around you.” Her own insecurities were smothering at times, where she feared that she wasn’t someone that could be held close, that she was unlikable in a hundred different ways. “The nicest thing someone can do for anyone is to listen to them when they say something. You can always tell when they’re not really, when they only give you half their attention. It’s the people who lean in, and are interested— those are the sweetest people you’ll ever know.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

“Nothing fancy, really. Maybe just a lazy Sunday in late summer, heading out to the beach and eating fresh fruit on the sand. Drinking champagne in the evening in a pretty dress and dancing with my closest friends. What more could I ask for?”

Her face clouded for a moment, the melancholic grip of untold truths and guilt sinking hooked claws into her temporary joy. “I think I’d like to know the truth about myself— about forgiveness. I’d want to know if I deserve it.” She struggles for a moment with layering on happiness, a fresh wash over a fresh would, concealing it like a thin coat of paint, a pretty smile and the tilt of her head. “That’s a really tricky question, isn’t it?”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

Bambi pondered for a moment, the rapid tapping of the pen against the page hurrying her answer. “I value when people are genuine and kind. If you mean what you say and you try not to hurt people, then you can’t be that bad of a person, right? It can’t be wrong to love that kind of person back.”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“I love both so, so much. I think I’d love to have a little kitten one day— one of those little white ones that look like a bit of tissue, but I’m absolutely terrible for stopping people in the street to ask to pet their dog. I met a little Chihuahua just yesterday named Cheeto. He melted my heart.”

“This is like that other question. The answer is, my time.” She answered it triumphantly, like she’d cracked the case of the Valentine’s Day questionnaire, but given the blank expression of the interviewer and the way their pen hovered over the page waiting for her to elaborate, Bambi’s eyes widened and she continued. “I just don’t like being alone that much. It’d be nice to have someone to spend quiet mornings with, or long, lazy afternoons. I wouldn’t even mind waiting in the doctors office, sitting in one of those hard plastic chairs for an appointment to finish up. I wouldn’t mind it at all.”

“I cry a lot. I’m a Pisces, classic water sign. I teared up in the grocery store yesterday because a woman was getting frustrated at me for not bagging my things fast enough. I mean, she didn’t say anything, but I knew she was mad. I could just tell.” Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she considered the last time, “I think it was probably Tuesday. Some people are just so, so mean in Instagram comments. Or, maybe Wednesday. It snowed all day, so,” she waved her hand, as if the meaning was entirely obvious, “just one of those days.”

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

Bambi flushed, pink spreading from the tip of her nose to the tops of her cheeks, colour rushing under the splattering of freckles that decorated her features. “Fairly important. You’ve gotta be compatible in all ways, you know?”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

“I think so,” she said lowly, eyes shining as she eyed the student, already bored, shaking a cramp out of their hand. “Do you wanna be my Valentine?”

#affluencevalentines #this task was truly my everest #about #absolutely did not edit this and absolutely will not

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kaseywsinclairs · 2 years

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She rocked up and down on her heels once, then twice before settling down— the serious expression on the interviewers face did not change, in fact her antics only made it set even harder, like stone: or perhaps maybe more like a gargoyle. “I’m Kasey Wallace-Sinclair,” she riddled off, “Twenty-three, taking comp sci.” The second half made her wrinkle her nose in distaste, waving her hand to dismiss it, an action that was met with a scribble in a box.

“I like to give people things,” Kasey said, thinking about the smooth piece of wood that was tucked into her bag right now that was destined to go to Cal, or the set of earrings that she had found at the farmer’s market that had reminded her of Elyse. Her pockets always made noise, hers was a musical step: from glass and metal and beads crashing and careening into one another while she moved.

The story came to mind immediately, and her smile spread— beatific. “A conch. I’d been looking for one all day once, I got the worst sunburn I’ve ever gotten because I was combing the beach, desperate to find one. It was almost three in the morning by the time I gave up and went home and washed the salt away and put on my aloe.” Kasey sighed, “I was so disappointed. I don’t know why it was so important to me, but I knew that I wanted one and that I needed to have one.” The blonde lifted a shoulder, “I spent the next day really sad, but my best friend came by that night and he was burned just as bad, or worse— but he had the most beautiful shell for me. It’s perfect, I still have it. You can hear the ocean in it just as clear as if you were there.”

“I don’t know,” Kasey said, frowning for the first time in the span of the interview. “No one’s ever told me that they liked the way that I think of things and didn’t laugh after.” Blue eyes cast up, and chewed at the flesh inside her cheek. “I think that it would be the most special thing that someone could say, if they meant it.” Her smile tugged up once again, as if it hadn’t of faltered at all. “There’s a hundred nice things that someone could do for me, I can’t pick the best one out of the bunch.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫f𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

This was something she had obviously put some thought into, and Kasey pushed her sleeves up, freeing her hands and wrists to properly illustrate the day. “I start the day off cuddled in after a sleepover, with Mira hopping around and giving me and my friends bunny kisses.” She felt warm, picturing it— the people she loved most all tucked in under a quilt, laid out under a sky full of glowing, plastic stars. “Then, we go get drinks. Coffee if they want, or tea, or even lemonade, but I like to have redbull.” Sugar and caffeine, she wanted to feel as though there was jet fuel in her veins. “I think I’d like to play Pokemon, find a shiny or something— or maybe go for a walk in the woods to find flowers. Just something nice, and easy, you know?”

Kasey pursed her lips. “I want to know if all that stuff about charging crystals is real. I have a lot of doubts, I think the universe would be able to speak best about it.” She had had a very intense conversation with Lane once about it, or rather, they had talked over the saleswoman in a mystic shop who was explaining the process: but both blondes had decided that the bonafide way of powering up crystals was simply too much effort.

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“Kindness.” The word is soft, as if drawn out with chalk. “People who treat me with kindness are the best ones that I know.” It was important, to feel comforted, to know that there was love around her: Kasey couldn’t be a flower that bloomed in the dark. She tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear, “Not everyone has, you know?”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“Both, I love both. I have a pet rabbit though, and I love her so, so much.” She was already scrabbling for her phone, pulling up a picture. “Her name is Mira—“

Her lips pressed together in brief concentration, this was something that could be answered simply, and yet she wanted the response to be just right. “Is it cheating if I said that I have everyone in my life I could possibly want to share things with? Sunrises, shopping trips, surf days and ice cream cones. I don’t wish for anyone else to take that all away from the people I do have."

“I cried in my communications class last week, my prof was being nice about it, but the girl that I was partnered up with got upset that I was being too slow. I got overwhelmed and just started to cry.” She rubbed at her cheek, “I’m still a bit embarrassed about it.” By yourself? Kasey sighed. “Watching Encanto the other day.”

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

Her head shook, and the blonde hair that had been carefully tucked behind her ears came free, swinging with the mismatched dangling earrings that she wore. “It’s not.” She leaned in, admitting quietly. “It’s actually kind of scary.”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

Kasey lifted a shoulder, “No one’s been rushing to ask me to be their valentine, so— I think so.”

#in the words of julie: this graphic is cute. but not that cute. but everything before it was bad #about #affluencevalentines

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safiyaaydin · 2 years

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“hello,” safiya greets her interviewer with a warm smile on her lips, clearing up the space in front of her so they have a place to set their stuff on the library table as well. “of course. my name is safiya aydin, i’m twenty-two, and an education major focusing on elementary education.” the bright smile on her face falls for a moment as she gives them a small not, not quite sure how to answer part of the question. “heteroromantic, heterosexual. cis-female. she/her pronouns, thank you for asking."

“that’s a great question,” she chuckles lightly, “i don’t know, i guess i’d have to say either acts or service or quality time. i think there’s something really special about it, someone just knowing the little tidbits about what you like or providing support without having to ask for it — and quality time you just can’t go wrong with, knowing that in that moment and in that space, it’s just you and that person.”

tw death mention “this,” she says as she reaches into the collar of her shirt and pulls out a gold heart shaped locket. muscle memory fidgeting with the jewelry as she opens it and leans against the table to show the other a small picture of safiya with her three sisters when they were kids, “it was the day my parents brought my youngest sister, emel, from the hospital. it was a very chaotic day. my sister, ecrin, wouldn’t stop crying because she suddenly wasn’t the baby anymore and my other sister, narin, was super upset that emel wasn’t a boy — she had wanted a baby brother. but the entire time, ecrin kept asking when they were going to take emel back and just kept doing the most silliest thing in order to call attention to herself. it’s one of my favorite memories of her.” the smile on her face begins to crack as she pulls back, closing the locket and placing it back inside her shirt. “after ecrin’s passing, my aunt got us four matching lockets with a picture of ecrin that meant a lot to us. that one was my pick. it’s the most meaningful piece of anything i have.”

“oh, well, i’ve never had a partner,” she admits shyly, a small hue of red flushing on her cheeks. she’d always been far too focused on her studies and taking care of her family to even think about dating. “but i think the nicest thing someone could do for me is listen. that probably sounds silly, maybe a little boring,” she chuckles lightly, “but there’s something about someone remembering the little details that i just find so special.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

pink lips part into a small ‘o’ before they curve into a wide smile. “that is, a really great question! is it really lame of me if i say hanging out by the lake with a good book just laying under one of the big oak trees with a cool breeze blowing on a really nice, sunny day? because it kind of is."

a sheepish smile makes its way onto her lips as shakes her head in disagreement. “you know, that sounds a lot like the whole magic genie folklore and we’ve all read how that turns out. i don’t know, i don’t think i would. there’s something exciting about learning and growing and not knowing what tomorrow holds."

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩?”

“honesty. i think there’s something really important about having an open line of communication, in whatever type of relationship. there’s something about being honest with someone that commands respect, like there’s a clear understanding between two people."

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧?”

“great question! i didn’t grow up having any pets so i’m not more fond than one over the other. i do really love animals though. i mean, if i had to pick one over the other, maybe cats? they’re just such fascinating creatures. not that dogs aren’t but they’re just so feisty and i really admire that."

“a sandwich with.” a guilty expression crosses her features before she breaks out into a fit of giggles. “i’m so sorry! it’s just that i’ve been studying all day and i haven’t had the chance to grab a bite to eat and the tomato and mozzarella panini at the cafè with an iced tea sounds delicious. except, it’s always so much that i can never finish it and i end up eating half and saving it for later which defeats the point because it doesn’t taste the same the next day — you don’t by chance want to grab lunch after this? my treat?"

“oh,” the inflection in her tone falls as she knits her eyebrows, trying to recall back when the last time she cried was. as much as of open book as she is, crying was something she rarely did in the presence of others. she’s always had to be the strong one, the older sister whose shoulder is always there for others to cry on. “i don’t know,” she answers honestly, it’s easily something she most likely blocked out. “around christmas?” the holidays taking on new meaning without her sister.

“𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

she opens her mouth to speak but instead she turns bright red. considering she’d never been intimate with anyone, it wasn’t that important? “i—um,” she flusters, “i like hugs.”

“𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲?”

she grows quiet for a second, almost as if she’s pondering the question before looking at her interviewer again. “yeah, i guess i am.”

#affluencevalentines

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