l'esprit de l'escalier

Golly Sandra // Eisley
Carolina Talbot, GA
 
EVENT 1
Welcome back to Grimwood Academy! Hope you enjoyed your holidays. It’s time to meet with your friends again, pick up the new schedule and prepare yourself for nine more months of the battle called sometimes high school.
The headmaster announced that at the end of the year three most active and successful students will be able to gain some job experience in the workplace of choice. The best laboratories, law firms, advertising companies and banks in the country are open for them. Members of The Clique are also interested in this offer and will do anything to eliminate other good students fighting for a chance of their lives.
 
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Ah, school. The first day back was always fairly simple – pick up you schedule, unpack your stuff, try not to punch anyone in the face for blocking your way in the hallways, that kind of stuff. To be honest, I was glad to be back – spending another day alone in a giant, empty house wasn’t exactly an appealing prospect. The Academy was much more fun, seeing as there was actually something to do.
 
Once I’d dumped all my stuff in my dorm, I headed back down to the common room, where most of the others were already gathered. I spotted Epiphany Harding, a girl I’d spoken to a few times before, over in the far corner of the room and made a beeline for her. The Head had already made the announcement about work experience, and her father was high-up in some top law firm in the city. I wanted to do my work experience there, and Epiphany could make that happen. I’d just make nice for a while, until she put in a good word with her dad, and then if she got boring I could get rid of her - possibly permanently, if I enlisted the help of the Clique. It was a perfect plan.
 
“Hi, Epiphany!” I started, giving her a friendly smile. “How was your summer – did you do anything interesting?”
 
She looked a little flustered, but I just smiled encouragingly and waited for an answer. It wasn’t like we spoke often, so she’d probably be a little confused as to why I was even talking to her. I’d done this before – I had fake friendships down to an art form. They were rather useful.
 
Eventually, I got my reply. “It wasn’t too bad, thanks. My family and I went abroad for a bit, but my dad was kinda busy most of the time. You know, work, and stuff.”
 
I nodded, and decided that playing dumb might be the best option in this case. I didn’t want her to find out that I was using her, after all, because then my plan would be ruined and I would have to find another lawyer’s daughter to get me some work experience, which all just seemed like unnecessary hassle.
 
“So what does your dad do?” I asked nonchalantly. As if I didn’t already know. She’d mentioned it once and I’d filed under ‘information that might be useful someday’. Today, apparently, was that day.
 
“Oh, he’s a lawyer in the city. He’s there all the time, but he really enjoys it… what do your parents do?”
 
“My father’s a businessman, but I don’t know exactly what it is he does, to be honest. Something to do with stocks, or something else dreadfully boring like that.”
 
We talked idly for a little while longer until Epiphany left, presumably to go and talk to someone she actually knew. Still, we exchanged mobile numbers and said we’d hang out sometime, so I counted it as a success. Besides, I had nine whole months to win her around before work experience, so I could afford to take it slow.
 
I sat down on one of the old couches and pulled out a book from my satchel. There were no lessons on the first day, so it’s not like I had anything better to do, and 10 o’clock in the morning was probably too early for a drink. So reading it was. I was about forty pages into Heart Of Darkness when I looked up to see Neil Carver sitting on the armchair opposite me. Cora Dukelow was there, too, but as soon as I looked up she got up and walked away, which was weird. I got the distinct feeling she’d been watching me, and had been for a while, but I had no idea why. Strange. But I could worry about her later – right now, there was an interesting boy staring at me.
 
“Morning, Neil,” I said cheerily, folding down the corner of my page and sticking the book back inside my bag. “Did you have a good summer?” I glanced around to make sure there were no teachers present before lighting a cigarette, and then held out the packet to my new companion.
“Want one?”
 
Included: @petronelle @her-heart-attack
 
@her-heart-attack I figured you could carry on the Neil/Carolina conversation in your story? I wasn't sure where I was going to go with the whole thing so I thought I'd leave it up to you :)

Collection for Madeleine Miller, my character in the Debutante Society RP.

Kinda Outta Luck // Lana Del Rey
Carolina Tablot, Grimwood Academy - Introductions
 
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Carolina Elizabeth Talbot, age 17, Atherton House
 
Bio: http://www.polyvore.com/here_comes_this_rising_tide/set?id=80755608
 
Collection: http://www.polyvore.com/got_secret_can_you_keep/collection?id=2510391
 
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Friends:
Epiphany Harding (@petronelle)
Alice Berk (@staring-girl)
Gabe Winston (@emericcson123)
Neil Carver (@her-heart-attack)
 
Enemies:
Cora Dukelow (@her-heart-attack)
Miu Yu (@unicorn-whispers)
Isla Augustyn (@catknap)
Gen Faulken (@emericcson123)
 
Acquaintances:
Alexei Naryshkin (@petronelle)
Danny Lancaster (@staring-girl)
Charlotte Pevensie (@glamourizerrr)

The Phoenix // Fall Out Boy
Carolina Talbot, Grimwood Academy (Audition)
 
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Name: Carolina Elizabeth Talbot
 
Age: 17
 
House: Atherton
 
Clique member: Absolutely
 
Skills: Manipulation, persuasion, reading, writing, debating, horse riding, sarcasm, lacrosse, schoolwork in general.
 
Weaknesses: Can't handle not being in charge, doesn't deal with failure very well, alcohol/cigarette addiction, doesn't show strong emotions easily, hates not getting what she wants.

Personality: Carolina Elizabeth Talbot could either be your best friend or your worst nightmare. She's a bit like Marmite - you either love her or you hate her. If you're friends with her, then great. You'll find her to be warm, funny, kind and genuine, with a penchant for long words, sarcasm and terrible jokes. However, if you're on her bad side... well, if I were you, I'd be terrified. She can be cold, calculating, and impossibly b*tchy, and will probably ruin your life with a military-style takedown. And your best friend's life too, just for fun, because she's like that. She's incredibly manipulative and knows exactly how to get people on her side and do what she wants - plus all of the teachers think she's a little sweetheart, almost too good to be true. She'll get you, and then she'll destroy you... so it's probably best to stay on her good side. Or sleep with one eye open. Whatever floats your boat.
 
Likes: Long words, reading, classic novels, the 1920s, creative writing, politics, debating, sunset, Halloween, cold weather, trenchcoats, old-fashioned horror movies, poetry, the smell of new books, vintage anything, headbands, penny loafers, sky-high heels, partying, champagne, expensive liquor, older guys, Marlboro Reds, mysteries, intelligence.
 
Dislikes: Being bossed around, being powerless in a situation, people who have no fashion sense, not understanding anything, mathematics, losing at anything.
 
Bio: Born into a very wealthy, aristocratic family, Carolina Talbot has never wanted for anything in her entire life. Although her mother died when she was very young, her father, a successful businessman, made sure she had everything she could possibly want and more. Some say he's over-compensating for her mother's death and the fact that he's not around much - and he probably is, to be honest - but Carolina doesn't mind. And besides, she's getting loads of expensive things without even having to make a dent in her trust fund, so why complain?

The one thing in her life her father didn't have to buy for her, however, was her admittance to Grimwood. Carolina is incredibly smart - hence her placement in Atherton House - and intends to become a lawyer after she leaves school, like her mother before she died.

Once she arrived at the Academy, Carolina made friends pretty quickly - she's very likable, until you cross her, at which point she'll make your life a living hell. Seriously. Girls at her last school in Kensington had to move away to escape the vicious rumour mill. She's very loyal, though, and wins people over easily - which is probably one of the reasons she instantly became part of the Clique, as she can pretty much convince people to do whatever she wants. She's very good at persuasion.
 
Despite being so academic, she also loves a good party, and is known to be a bit of a heavy drinker on occasion. No one really notices, and besides, it's hard being the life of the party when you're sober, so if there’s good liquor, loud music and somewhere to dance, Carolina's probably there, being the centre of attention.
 
Biggest secret: This past summer, she may have developed a little, ah, substance abuse problem. Not that she'd describe as a problem - more of a habit than anything else. Also, obviously, she's a member of the Clique.
 
Family:
+ Mother: Lauren Talbot (died when Carolina was three)
+ Father: Edward Talbot, a successful businessman. Wasn't around much during Carolina's childhood, but spoiled her rotten to make up for it.
 
Model: Leighton Meester
 
Collection: http://www.polyvore.com/got_secret_can_you_keep/collection?id=2510391
 
Taken by: @mia-loves-you
 
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This has been sitting in my drafts for ages, I have no idea why I didn't publish it sooner!

a collection for Carolina Elizabeth Talbot, my character in the Grimwood Academy RP.

The Asteroids // Galaxy Tour
TRT (Audition)
 
Go! Join! Do it now! http://www.polyvore.com/roaring_twenties/group.show?id=161261
 
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Name: Letitia "Letty" Fay
 
Age: 20
 
Character category: a somewhat famous singer trying to make it in the film industry now that "talkies" have come about.
 
Gang: she's aware of the gang culture in Chicago, but she tries to stay as neutral as possible - crime isn't really her area of expertise and she's far too nice to even consider becoming a member of a gang.
 
Bio: Letty Fay was born and raised in a little farming town in Virginia, where she lived until she was 17, at which point she'd had enough of small-town life. So, in the middle of the night, she packed her one suitcase with everything she could possibly carry and fled to the next town over, where she waited at the train station overnight until the 11:11 train to Chicago pulled in the next morning. Straight away she found work as a cigarette girl in one of the new clubs, and from there managed to secure a few late-night singing gigs at speakeasies all across Chicago. She enjoys singing there in particular, as they provide her with bootlegged alcohol free of charge - a rare novelty, thanks to Prohibition. Although she appears quiet, Letty loves to party - she sees it as making up for all the years she lost sitting at home in her tiny farmhouse, waiting for something interesting to happen.
 
Flash forward three years and she has a whole new life - she has contracts set up with almost every club and theatre owner in the city, and performs most nights, bringing in a steady income to pay the rent and enough to have some left over for herself.
 
Recently, due to the success of the talkies, her newly-hired agent is pushing her to try and break into the film business, but Letty is unsure - already insecure about her talent as a singer, she doesn't think she's be able to make it in the cutthroat movie business.
 
Personality: fun-loving, friendly and flirtatious, Letty's really just an open book. She's very warm and welcoming and will make friends with just about anybody - she finds it hard to see the bad in people and can be rather naive at times. She loves to meet new people, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone in the whole of Chicago who had a bad word to say about her. That doesn't mean she doesn't have flaws, though - she just keeps them well-hidden. She's very insecure about her talent as a singer, and even more so about her acting skills, and secretly thinks she doesn't really have what it takes to become famous.
 
Family and significant others: after she left her hometown, Letty cut off all ties with her family in order to start her new life. She is currently single.
 
Skills: Singing, writing poetry/lyrics, acting, wrapping people around her little finger, holding her liqour, reading, sewing, making friends.
 
Model: Clara Bow

young and beautiful // lana del rey

enchanted // taylor swift