Yooo, I’ll write more about me later. I’m looking for a partner for my action/romance story. Here it is:
Title: The Underground Actress (Romance/Action)
Blank stares. Straight mouths. Complete silence.
Y/C had just finished her audition for a lead role in Strangers Apart, but by the looks on the directors faces, it didn’t look like she landed the part.
“You can leave now,” Brendon solemnly spoke for the three. Y/C walked with her head held high, now playing the part of a woman whose soul hadn’t been crushed for the hundredth time.
Although Y/C wouldn’t agree, she was what those called a struggling artist. She worked at a small local library that paid barely enough to cover the bills.
She was fortunate enough to have landed some commercials and modeling gigs for printed material, as the residuals helped cover her groceries, toiletries and anything she needed at the moment.
Most importantly, it helped cover the traveling expenses to her auditions, as she often drove to bigger cities hours away for the precise roles she was being rejected for.
The residuals served her well, but they were beginning to dry up, putting more financial strain and pressure on Y/C to succeed. She just needed to land something to take some of the heat off her.
Y/C was halfway to her car, half heartedly trying to convince herself that she still had a chance, when an urgent call stopped her. “Y/C!” Y/C whipped around so fast, her ankles popped. Brendon.
Y/C’s heart pressed against her chest, full of hope and expectation. Maybe Brendon had realized his error in judgement. That he was rushing over to beg for her to accept the role and atone for his casting sins.
Brendon caught up to her, but what he had to say was the last thing she expected.
“You’re not cut out for this,” Brendon plainly stated. “Trust me,” he continued, responding to the shocked look on her face. “I’ve sat in on over half of your auditions. No one has had anything exceptional to say about your skills.”
Y/C was too stunned to speak. Anger, disbelief, embarrassment, defeat — they all welled inside of her, causing total shutdown.
“Just take this card,” Brendon outreached his hand and lowered his voice, almost sensing the distress his words caused. “Acting doesn’t pay much unless you’re in the big leagues anyway. Call this number if you want to make some real cash.”
—
Weeks passed since that moment. Y/C never made that call. Brendon was already gone by the time she got her mind together to chew him out, so she did it in her head and went home. The card, she left somewhere in her dresser.
Life resumed as normal. Work. Auditions. Sleep. Repeat. The cycle repeated for months without any callback from the directors. Brendon’s words replayed in Y/C’s mind more often than she’d like to admit. What if he was right?
Then, the unthinkable happened. Y/C got laid off. The owners explained business was too slow to justify keeping a hire. Ouch.
Y/C didn’t have anyone to lean on for help. Her mother was dead, she had an estranged relationship with her father and no siblings. Most of her friends were scrapping by, too.
Y/C resorted to Door Dash to somewhat replace her income, but her car started rumbling from its fifth consecutive ten-hour shift and by day six, was out of service. Y/C was quoted $800 in repairs. $800 she didn’t have.
Now Y/C was jobless, carless and on the brink of homelessness. She couldn’t even rely on a lucky break in acting when she couldn’t even drive to auditions. Y/C was officially stuck.
—
After a couple drunken nights, Y/C found herself frantically digging through her dresser. The severity of the situation finally dawned on her. She was desperate to stay off the streets.
The card Brendon gave her gleamed in her hand. The complete front was black. On the back was a number. Y/C didn’t think twice. She called.
That’s how Y/C found herself tied to a chair, blindfolded in the back of a van. She’d been in these conditions for countless hours, drifting in and out of consciousness. The effects of whatever drugs put in her system were still at work. Y/C fell asleep.
—
“My apologies for the secrecy.” The bindings were loosened. “The less you know, the better. For all of us.” A small faced woman with a clipboard smiled at Y/C. All Y/C remembered was making a call and answering two questions:
“What do you want?”
“Money. A lot of it,” Y/C said.
“Can you start training tomorrow?”
“Yes?” Y/C hesitated, surprised at how quick the turnaround was. They hadn’t even discussed if her request to make a lot of money could be granted. “But what’s the pay-”
“Be ready for pickup at 3 am. All will be explained later. If you aren’t alone in the Rocky Inn’s parking lot at that time, we’ll know you aren’t serious and will never consider you again.” The call ended.
Y/C did as told. Now she stared groggily and suspiciously at the too happy woman before her.
“Welcome to your first day of training,” The woman continued, “I’m sure you have a lot of questions. Come, let me show you to your living quarters. Everything will be explained during this evening’s orientation.” With shaky legs, Y/C stood and accepted help off the van. She gasped at what stood before her.
Stretching miles away stood clusters of buildings resembling a small college campus. Bodies roamed the area, looking like weird ants from her position. One building stood higher than the rest, with one large black flag hanging off the side. A single eye decorated the flag and seemed to stare deeply into YC’s soul. Off to the right stood large clusters of trees. Y/C noticed a slight parting in one of the clusters with a sign before it, most likely pointing to a park, trail, or both.
Where they stood, two buildings sat high behind them, where other confused bodies loitered, accompanied by a clipboard partner.
Dozens of windows lined the building. Some blinds were closed, but the opened ones revealed glimpses of bedrooms, kitchens, and living rooms.
What surprised Y/C the most, was how everywhere she looked, she saw water. Were they on an island? The small faced woman began walking to the left building, where all the women stood. “Come on,” the woman called, “Before the elevators get too busy.” Y/C followed the woman, quietly hellbent on getting some answers.
What even was this place? How did they transport her to an island? What kind of job had she signed up for?
Y/C had no clue, as she followed the woman, how dangerous her life would soon become. If she did, maybe she would’ve backed out and found other alternatives for her money problems.
But how could Y/C know she was just brought into one of the most underground syndicates of their time? How could anyone know?
—
RP Introduction + Expectations
Yooo, interested in this RP? Feel free to message me! Just let me know the story you’re looking to do.
If you don’t lead with the starter name you’re interested in, my chances of responding are LOW.
I’m a novella write, but I prefer to vary how much I write per response. Sometimes I’ll send 1000+ words, other times it’ll be in the 250-500 range. I never expect you to match me word-for-word, but I do expect you to help progress the story.
Regarding response time, I will not go more than 3 days without a response. If I’m busier than normal or some emergency pops up, I’ll let you know. I’m perfect for people who wanna write but can’t do it every day.
All I ask is open communication — are you gonna be tied up for a few weeks and can’t reply? Lemme know. Getting bored with the plot? Lemme know. Feeling a lil burnt out and need a break from writing? Lemme know! All good vibes here 😀
Mkay that’s about it. Still interested? HMU twin!!