A rose by any other name...[M]{DamoniquexBrokecollege}

[Damonique]

...can draw blood all the same.

Rated M for strong language, violence, sexual themes and content, drug/alcohol use, physical/emotional violence. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Name:'Daring' Darien Fiore
Age:37
Appearance:A tall, fit, imposing man with clearly Mediterranean features. At first glance, he appears handsome, but severe, smiling rarely, laughing less. His skin is quite tan, almost the color of caramel, his eyes a cloudy grey-blue often likened to a stormcloud. He has a mane of lustrous black hair sometimes worn loose, other times tied back in a long braid. Almost always impeccably dressed in designer suits, vests, and shoes. Always black fabric with silver buttons, rings, cufflinks, watches. Never gold.

Personality:His eyes are not the only thing often compared to the weather, as his moods are equally changeable. A lull can give way to a sudden rage, over as quickly as it began, while sometimes he's overcast, speaking little, lost in melancholy.

None can truly say what goes on in his head, but there's definitely something broken, weather the result of his tragic life, innocence lost far too young, overwork and stress taking their toll, or just a misfortune of birth. Everyone might have their own thoughts on the matter, but they also know not to give voice to them where he might hear.

[brokecollege]

full name: delphine louise o'neil.
age: twenty-two.
appearance: https://data.whicdn.com/images/326471545/large.jpg https://data.whicdn.com/images/304455007/large.jpg https://data.whicdn.com/images/303423494/large.jpg
short biography: delphine's parents, louise and marshall o'neil, practically raised delphine in their store. she took her first steps in that shop, spoke her first words in that shop--hell, there were even some nights where she slept in that shop! so, it was only expected that the young girl would take over the shop once her parents passed. and, she did. when her father fell ill, delphine took time off of school to help her mother keep the business going. and when her father died and her mother could no longer put in the effort, delphine quit school entirely to help her. now, with her mother practically confined to her bed, delphine runs the store entirely. not that she minds any, as she loves the store and its customers with all her heart and soul.

great minds truly think alike lol

[brokecollege]

okay, so here is what we have so far:
A plot where cute flower shop owner who wears flower crowns to work every day has a customer who she doesn’t quite understand. He’s such a rough looking guy that’s always accompanied by several men. Every single time he comes in he purchases one single red rose. She never has the courage to ask what for but it’s every day. One day he shows up at her shop to see the windows shattered and a very upset girl sitting behind the counter. To her surprises he offers to pay for the repairs. Unable to say no she accepts. It isn’t until her friend comes in that she realizes she just accepted money from the biggest crime boss in the city.
with: he buys a single rose for his dead fiancee's grave, who also happened to be a woman that the shop owner was close to in her youth. when the thugs wreck the store, he offers to fix everything (including any debt) in exchange for her, and her shop.

[Damonique]

So, one thing we really need to think about is the fiance, she'll need to be fleshed out, with a few particulars...for one, she needs a name easily shortened into a nickname distinct enough to not be recognized.

A pretty key plot point will be Dare or Delphine being able to talk about her without realizing it was the same person all along too soon. But I guess we could get around that by Darien flat out refusing to talk about her...or communicate in a healthy manner in general.

She'd also have to bear a near enough resemblence to Delphine. Not identical, of course, perhaps a bit taller, different hair color, slightly more tanned or fit...things that could be, y'know Accentuated. Besides that, maybe Delphine picked up a few mannerisms from her as well.

I think you get where I'm going with this, after all, I always try to give my titles an in-story meaning.

[brokecollege]

retweet, i feel it. for names, we can do something like delilah, dahlia, dayana. that is, if we're sticking with 'd' as the first letter.
as for mannerisms, the fiancee could have taught delphine something. like, how to play the piano or how to sing a song--even better, she always sang like a certain song around her and delphine sings it every so often when she's alone? and their appearance could be like, they both had reddish hair and were relatively the same height, making them appear to be the same from behind or the side? but when you look at them head on, its obvious they're not the same person bc eye color, facial features, etc.

[Damonique]

Alright, sorry to cut this short but my connections getting buggy and my eyes are getting sleepy, so I think it's about time I got to knock off.

Think on that, and the whole thing, we should be able to get started on the IC tomorrow.

[brokecollege]

sweet! sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!

[Damonique]

I like Delilah, just Dee for short would work. It fits with the flower theme we have going. Fiore is actually 'Flower' in Italian.

[brokecollege]

alrighty, delilah it is. oh really, it is? well, i guess you learn something knew every day.

[Damonique]

And we have an IC! I thought we might start with the first day Dare ever set foot in the shop, have that interaction. And then skip to various days during the month or so leading up to the shop getting broken into before settling into something close to real-time.

I'm not the best at editing on my Kindle, so please forgive any spelling/gramattical errors I make over the next couple days, I'll give it all a proper polishing to our standards when I get home to my computer.

[brokecollege]

sounds like a plan!
and don't worry about it, i'm not too finicky about that!
also, i posted!

[Damonique]

Reply is up, lots of little details to be unpacked in a very short time. Delphine's first glimpse of him will actually be quite nonthreatening and vulnerable, quite unlike himself.

[brokecollege]

ooh how intriguing, my post is up!

[Damonique]

I posted, I'm thinking after this interaction finishes we skip forward about a week, and it's become something of a routine.

He comes in alone, early in the day, they chat a little, buys a rose and leaves a large bill, sometimes just a twenty, but usually a fifty or even a hundred, and leaves. Delphine still doesn't quite know what to make of him.

[brokecollege]

sounds like a plan!

[Damonique]

Posted. This is neat, because while we're gonna keep going, just that one interaction(with some of the. . oddness cut out) could just end here and make a sweet, simple one page short story about kind words from a kind young woman to a man in pain.

Sadly for them, perhaps, if more fun for us, is that we don't really do 'simple and sweet' here.

[brokecollege]

fun for us indeed!
i just got back from work, ill work on my post but idk if ill manage to get it done before the stupid website shuts down on me. if not, it should be up around 2am. and tomorrow i have to get my tattoo touched up at noon, so ill be afk from 11am-2pmish? and then i have work at 5:30-12am again. but, saturday im off!

[Damonique]

Oh yeah, O remember you talking about your tats. Getting it added on to or just polished a bit?

And don't worry about activity, I've got plenty of trails to hike and books to read while I'm out here.

PS:I decided I had to scrap the 'coming on every day' thing in favor of it just being a regular thing. Darien's a busy guy and isn't in the city, or even the country ever day.

[brokecollege]

just polished a lil bit. and now that ive polished it, i gotta start working on my next design.
and no worries!

[Damonique]

Neat. I. Getting some words done sometime this month.

Reply is up, probably took a bit longer than I needed to on it, but when I get going it's difficult to cut it short.

Now, balls in your court, but I don't think the suggested 'date' should actually happen...or if it does, it shouldn't go well, since I don't want them being anything resembling a couple when he makes his offer.

[brokecollege]

ooh! are you getting a lot of words, or just a little?

and, yes, i agree! it would throw off the whole plot we've set up.

[Damonique]

Well, I already have a sort of 'slash' done over my heart in black outlined with red from my gothy/emo/whatever they call 'dark' these days phase, so I figured I'd get a piece of suitably 'deep' psuedo-poetry to really make it pretentious.

Also, finished my earlier partial reply. I hope your enjoying it as much as I am. There have been a few shifts in tone as I try to figure out Darien's....excentricities for myself. He's clearly a manic depressive, but there's other influences as well

[brokecollege]

ooh what a perfect way to complete your tat.

and i do love it, very much so! its very interesting and i love our little plot. i went ahead and skipped ahead a few weeks to the thugs breaking in, as i figured the two had established their little semi-relationship/friendship? enough to do that!

[Damonique]

If your wondering why my post isn't up yet....it's because the site ate it, courtesy of my sketchy phone internet. Or at least, two thirds of it, and I'm trying to quickly summarize the rest from memory.

[brokecollege]

no worries, take your time. that has happened to me hundreds of times, and each time is more frustrating than the last.

[Damonique]

Alright, so I may have just more-or-less rewritten the whole thing. I'm especially proud of that first scene, writing people even crazier than I am is always an interesting head-space to be in.

As to the other part...I was strongly considering having Darien be the one who HIRED the thugs to bust up the store in the first place, just to put Delphine under his thumb, but decided against it. He's paranoid and unstable, but not an straight-up villain....though once the initial shock wears off, he might decide that it was for the best that it happened.

[brokecollege]

that would have been an interesting twist to things, although that also would've meant he was indeed a villain.

and you did amazing with it, as always. your work never fails to impress me.

[Damonique]

You have my humble thanks, in the form of a reply just for you.

[brokecollege]

how so very kind of you

[Damonique]

And there's another....now we can start in earnest. While it's difficult, since I am me, after all, I'm going to try to keep my replies shorter and more tightly focused on the in-story here and now from now on, only going into what Delphine would be both present and aware of where possible.

Please do remind me when I seem to be forgetting that

[brokecollege]

i will do my very best to remember, though ill have to admit my memory is a bit spotty

[Damonique]

Posted. Something I've noticed is that try as I might, it's nearly impossible for me to write characters talking like any normal person does. Why something so boring when you could evoke poetry instead? The real hard part is not overdoing it.

I think for the most part, it works for a story like this, something akin to a harlequin romance novel. But you be the judge...too much?

[Damonique]

Alright, I'm heading out for what qualifies as a 'concert' where I live(meaning about thirty people jammed into a record store listening to the finest music the local garages have to offer), but ill have my phone to at least read your reply and start coming up with ideas for my own.

Should be back in a few hours. I'm home but still on my self-imposed 'vacation', so I'll be available later into the night if you'd like to keep going then.

[brokecollege]

no i love it! i would say its not enough!
as for your concert, i hope you enjoyed it! i had to go to work, unfortunately. but i only have to work monday and then im off tuesday and wednesday!

[Damonique]

Sorry I left you waiting. I slept in on account of a hangover, and then I was busy all day working on the place we rent out since it was nice out, getting it summer-ready. Even when I'm not actually working I still end up, y'know, working. And then I took a nap because I could, and then I had to get a post in on my story with Kicks because technically, I started that one first even though it got delayed by her respiratory infection and ensuing near-coma.

But, my reply is up now, and it definitely took some effort getting it...just right. Regardless of context, first kisses are always the best.

[brokecollege]

you dont have to worry! we all get busy outside of this website, it happens! im just glad that you were able to do everything and get some rest inbetween it all!
and holy crap it sounds like she has been through a lot. im glad that she seems to be back to normal, and i hope she lives a healthy life after all of that!

[Damonique]

Well, it was more the medication that put her out of commission than the infection itself, and she's starting to feel better now so I'd say she'll be fine in a few days. Definitely' don't envy her, I had something similar once and it was absolutely terrible, feels like drowning.

And I've replied for you! Got to get to sleep now, but I look forward to more tomorrow. I really like the dynamic we have going, Darien's equal parts scary and sweet, and Delphine's young and naive but surprisingly resilient and adaptable, much like the flowers she sells.

[brokecollege]

i think the dynamic of our characters will definitely prove to give us an interesting story.

and that is awful! im glad that shes getting better, no one deserves to be in that kind of pain.

also, forgive my absence! my moms birthday is tomorrow, so i drove down to be with her today and tomorrow. ill be on the rest of the night though!

[Damonique]

Happy birthday to your mom! My sisters birthday is the 15th, and I plan on driving down to Nashville to spend a few days with her.

My post is up, and I've got at least a few more hours in me. Not all people are as they seem on the outside. Grigori, in his myriad forms, is a character that pops up in just about everything I write, always a decent man with a difficult job, keeping my more 'colorful' characters out of trouble.

[brokecollege]

haha thank you! i spent the whole day with her, so i'd say she had a pretty good day.
and that sounds like so much fun! i hope that you and your sister have fun together for her birthday!
grigori seems like a doll and a much needed character--sometimes we gotta create someone to keep our other characters in line.

[Damonique]

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself! Posts is up, and if Delphine's friend Rosa was going to pick a time to show up to support her friend...and enlighten her as to who Darien really is, now would probably be a good time.

[brokecollege]

i sort of kind of introduced her? but important side note, i almost had a heart attack!!
my computer was being dumb and would not let me get to this site like no matter what i did and i was like, "well.. this is the end of it." but after a good hour of trying i finally got it to work. thank god.

[Damonique]

....good job scaring the shit out of me, I took 'heart attack' very literally. Glad it's not so serious as that, though I was wondering where you were, usually this is our primetime for writing.

[brokecollege]

psh i almost did! and then my computer wasn't letting me go to any site.. it was crazy. i was ready to throw a fit. but now all is well!

[Damonique]

Don't....don't say things like that, though. I know, it doesn't seem like a big deal, just hyperbole, but I've known, and know some people, both on here and elsewhere with serious health issues, for whom an actual, honest-to-god heart attack is in no way out of the question.

So when I read something like that, my own heart skips a beat and I panic, knowing there's nothing I can do but offer useless well-wishes. So yeah, please don't do that. I'm probably just oversensitive. And I am flattered you value our time so much, it's very sweet of you.

[brokecollege]

oh im very sorry! i didn't mean to offend!! i will definitely avoid using phrases like that from now on!!

[Damonique]

Truly, it's fine. Reply is up now.

I decided that rather trying to steer things in his own direction as he usually does, Darien would wait for her to finish saying whatever it is she means to say. After all, the house of cards is already tumbling down, there's not much more he can do besides see how they fall and work from there, at this point.

[brokecollege]

sounds good! and i just got back from work so im gonna work on my reply now. also, i have the day off tomorrow so i'll be on all day!

[Damonique]

Sounds wonderful to me, I'll be free most of tomorrow, but I'll be driving up to Nashville early on Sunday to see my sis. I'll still have my kindle though, so I'll still be able to post, just less often.

[brokecollege]

oh don't worry about me during that time! you just focus on your sister and spending all the time you can with her, family is important!

[Damonique]

Posts up, it won't all come out yet, but I've been gradually working on Darien's backstory, which means research. 'Cosa Nostra' is probably my single favorite Italian phrase...it simply means 'our thing'.

[brokecollege]

it is a very quaint and nice phrase! learning about other cultures is so interesting, especially when youre creating your own character based off that culture! you learn so much!

[Damonique]

Indeed it is, post is finally up. That took way to long owing to constant distractions and more research. I'm quite proud of the set-piece though, this is the reason I decided not to set the RP in any city in particular.

It's more of a hybrid New York/Chicago with a little LA and Vegas thrown in for good measure, since this seems to be going in more and more of a 'noire' direction as we go along. If I'm gonna do the Mafia thing I may as well go all-in.

By the way, it should be noted that Delphine's going to face some subtle white-ish on white racism from basically here on out, after all, she's Irish. Bit of bad blood there.

[brokecollege]

might as well!

and eh, how realistic would a roleplay be without a little bit of the harsh reality here and there?

[Damonique]

Reply is up, I'm SO SO sorry that we haven't gotten more done. I didn't leave you a whole lot of time before the site's downtime, but I get into my head when I'm writing, picking exact words, exact phrases. I agonized over that last line way longer than I probably needed to, weather or not I wanted Darien to drop the 'hint' as it were.

I like it though and there'll be more hints to come, puts something out there for Delphine to try to wheedle out of him, providing plenty of opportunity for drama, between him not communicating properly and her agonizing over it.

[brokecollege]

do not worry!! life is a busy thing, we cant dedicate all our time to the site!! all that matters is that we are having the time of our lives, so take as much time or as little time you need to do your replies!

and ooh an opportunity for drama, how fun!

[Damonique]

Post is up, a bit short because I'm just using my phone.

Edit:Edited for length and detail to fit my entirely self-imposed 'standards', had a good time hanging out with just my sister. Swiped her kindle, so I have a decent-ish writing platform if you feel like gracing me with your words tonight.

[brokecollege]

i was gonna reply last night after work, but i had a killer headache that would not go away. so, i went to bed. i'll be able to respond today until i gotta go to work, and then bc i have tomorrow off i can respond after work tonight and tomorrow + wednesday

[Damonique]

I feel that, take whatever time you need. We're doing my sisters birthday-dinner-thing now, and then I'll be free. Headed back home tomorrow, Nashville's been fun but driving here is a nightmare and it's getting a bit crowded. Plus, I got work to get back to.

[brokecollege]

i hope you enjoyed your sister's bday party, and spending time with her! family is a very important thing.

oof, understandable. driving sucks. but you must drive safe!

[Damonique]

Thank you!

Reply is up and I believe we've finally hit our stride here. I have a lot of backstory finished up in my head that'll slowly make it's way into the story, and now it's a matter of what sort of major scenes and conflicts we want to see play out. I hope your enjoying it even half as much as I am, which is immensely.

[brokecollege]

i am indeed immensely enjoying it! i become more interested with every post!

[Damonique]

I'm sorry this reply is taking so long, but I basically changed directions mid-post and had to redo a lot from scratch...

[Damonique]

Reply is up...again, I'm very sorry, but it was sort of a point that would set the tone going forward and I didn't want to fuck it up. My first try was too lenient on Darien's part, the second WAY too harsh, so I settled for somewhere in-between that I think/hope is better than either.

[brokecollege]

no worries, your posts are always great and well thought out!
and sorry about my lack of replies today, i'm getting ready to move and i've been working on homework and running errands and things have just been hectic! warning, i have to go to the bank early tomorrow and then help my grandparents with their TV, so i wont be on until late afternoonish? and then i have work from 5 to midnight!

[Damonique]

I'd disagree with that first part, but thanks anyway. Like this one, for instance, I wrote on my lunch break so it's kinda short and 'meh', but it moves things along. I don't really need to stretch for 5+ paragraphs when they're just talking to each other....I just kinda do, usually.

[brokecollege]

you've gotta give yourself more credit. you're a great writer, even if you write three paragraphs or five. i love rping with you because of it! just write how much you want and know that i will always love it!

[Damonique]

I suppose I'll just have to take the praise, then.

Reply is up!

[brokecollege]

my reply is up happy easter!

[Damonique]

Happy Easter to you too! I'll get working on my reply right away, just finished up family dinner.

[Damonique]

Ah, finally, reply is set....too bad it's a sad one, Darien's racking up some asshole points to make up for some of the nice things he said earlier. Sorry it took so long, but it turns out that being vague on purpose is actually one of the hardest things to write.

[brokecollege]

so sorry for my long absence! im getting ready to move so i've been packing and tying up loose ends!
also, from the 27-3 im going to be in new york so i wont be able to reply as much!
also, my reply will be out before the night ends!

[Damonique]

It's fine, I've been busy with work anyway. So, New York City or just the state?

I'm working on a reply now and have pretty much the rest of the night free.

[brokecollege]

itll be new york city! im very excited!
and the rest of my night (and part of my day tomorrow) is also free!

[Damonique]

Sorry I didn't do anything with that. I'm in a pretty bad place right now, honestly....two people I love equally are fighting...everybody is both right and wrong, but no matter how it shakes out, I lose a friend. Right now I'm tearing my fucking hair out trying to think of solutions, but there really isn't one.

I really don't have much of a life, in the real world, and this part of what little I have left is collapsing and I can't do anything about it. It's painful and I feel powerless, so I'll either channel it into some pretty aggressive and cathartic fiction for you or just vanish for a bit. You'll know which shortly.

[brokecollege]

im so sorry. i understand what you're going through completely. if you need to take time for yourself to figure things out (or just because) then please, do so. your mental health and well being is paramount to all. if you ever want to talk--about nothing or about what you're going through--then please do not be afraid to talk to me. if i cant offer you words of wisdom, ill offer you words of comfort. anything to help.

[brokecollege]

hello! just popped in to say that ill be back to my normal schedule on friday night (about 10ish my time?) and will post my full reply then!

[Damonique]

Wonderful! You have been missed. It wouldn't have been so bad if Kicks hadn't decided to take exactly the same time off as you, leaving me with nothing and nobody to write at. But yay, you shall return!

[brokecollege]

oh snap, that mustve been incredibly boring with nothing to do. but i am back! the only day i might not be on from here on out is wednesday, cus thats the day im moving!

[Damonique]

Reply is up, I might of lost my tempo a little since we left off but I'm getting the ball rolling again. I'm afraid that'll be my only post for the night, worked all day and I'm absolutely drained. I've got all of tomorrow free though.

[brokecollege]

dont you worry about it! get as much sleep as you need, i know how hard work can be!

[brokecollege]

heyo just letting you know that i will be replying tonight after i finish (most) of my homework!

[Damonique]

Okies, I look forward to it!