* 𝒄𝑎𝑙𝑚 .

      ✤      ONE         ›         BASICS   .

name.     saba marjan kharazi.         nicknames.     kharazi.         age.     forty-one.         birthdate.     may 13th.         hometown.     new york city,  new york.         gender.     cis woman.         pronouns.     she & her.         sexual & romantic orientation.     lesbian.         occupation.     owner @ books and crannies.          time in bear creek.     nine months.         neighborhood.     evergreen.         positive   traits.     assertive,  industrious,  creative.         neutral   traits.     ambitious,  competitive,  self-exigent.         negative   traits.     chaotic,  temperamental,  headstrong.

      ✤      TWO         ›         STORY   .

(  !  )   CW:     implied mentions of alcohol.

born the third of five children,  chaos was something that characterized you from the moment you took your first breath.   you were loud and demanding from the first second of your existence,  and that didn’t subside as years went by.   

as the middle child,  independence was part of your character from the beginning,  a trait that more often than not got you in trouble.   you grew up chaotic,  always messing around,  always giving headaches to your parents and your older siblings who,  despite their reproachful looks,  watched over you like hawks.   this didn’t stop your reckless behavior,  a behavior that only became more prominent and harder to control as you grew older.

however,  you were raised in a house of scholars with two college professors as parents,  and it didn’t take long in your life for that same path to find you.   you were exceptional from day one,  even though it took you a bit to show it,  yet by the time high school came,  everyone could see it.   you had developed a love for reading long ago,  your nose deep in a book,  the only thing keeping yourself out of trouble.   soon enough,  too,  you also developed a love for history,  a love that quickly became a passion that followed you strongly and steadily until college came.

to everyone’s surprise  ( because,  let’s be real,  you were too chaotic and too irresponsible for anyone to believe too much in you ),  you made it into yale university,  and flew the nest freshly out of eighteen.   your college years were a mess,  of course they were,  but you managed to attend every class no matter how hungover you were,  and ace every test no matter how many parties you had attended during the week.   you were brilliant,  which made things easier for you,  which allowed you to take liberties others couldn’t,  and it didn’t take much for you to graduate summa cum laude as a historian.

however,  despite your passion for history,  you wanted more.   you wanted to see the world,  not only live it but experience it.   that’s how you ended up traveling the country after graduation,  moving from one state to the next,  taking odd jobs that didn’t have much to do with your degree,  but that allowed you to live the life you wanted.   

walking this path is how you came to learn how to bookbind,  a trade that held so much beauty in your eyes you fell head over heels for it.   you were stationed in san francisco when you discovered it,  by chance,  of course,  but you knew right then and there that you wanted to learn it and do something with it.   you took several courses that thought you how to assemble books,  how to repair them,  how to bring them back to life.   and when you felt ready,  your odd jobs stopped being odd and started having a purpose.   yo repaired books for small libraries in the beginning,  growing a reputation,  filling your resume with recommendations,  and every place you visited after san francisco had a spot where you could work your magic.

that’s how you ended up in bear creek nine months ago,  after a life of traveling.   until this day you don’t know what it was about the town that drew you in,  but it did,  and you stayed longer than you intended.   with the savings of a lifetime,  you bought a small library tucked in a corner of aspen glen,  fulfilling a dream you didn’t know you had,  but that filled your heart with joy.   there,  every day,  you repair old books that need saving;  you bring them back to life,  and you sell them to those who appreciate them for what they are:  little treasures resting on a shelf waiting for the right person to take them home.

      ✤      THREE         ›         HEADCANONS   .

     i.     saba is the thirdborn of two iranian parents who ran away from their home country when saba was only four months in her mother’s womb.   she was born in new york,  and grew up surrounded by bustling culture that characterizes the city.   the change that bear creek provided gave them a sense of calmness she didn’t know she needed.      ii.     she’s an expert hiker and climber,  and by this time she has clocked every good place to do this around bear creek.   she goes for a hike every saturday first thing in the morning,  and plans her climbs carefully twice a month.      iii.     has a tuxedo cat named humphrey who is a constant presence in books and crannies,  and is her adoration.   he’s very friendly,  especially with regular customers.      iv.     possesses an untamed sweet tooth,  loves everything sweet,  but mostly pastries.   she leaves the bookstore every day at mid-morning to have one with a double-espresso.      v.     chaotic lesbian !!!   she’s just a mess,  and loves to be a mess.   despite the years,  she still knows how  ( and likes )  to get in trouble.   say jump,  she’ll say how high.      vi.     looooves cheap wine and hates snobs who think cheap equals bad quality.   she often indulges in a glass of it every night while reading her book of the month.      vii.     she’s not a fan of cooking,  but she makes an exception for persian food and the recipes she learned from her parents.   at least once a week,  she takes her time to prepare a persian dish and share it with whoever is willing to try it.      viii.     she’s fluent in english,  spanish,  and farsi,  this last one being her mother tongue.   regarding this,  she’s big on farsi terms of endearment,  and they will slip out of her without her even noticing.   if you do,  though …  well,  that’s up to you.

      ✤      ONE         ›         BASICS   .

name.     cordelia louise van der rohe.         nicknames.     none,  don’t you dare.         age.     fifty-three.         birthdate.     january 7th.         hometown.     portland,  oregon.         gender.     cis woman.         pronouns.     she & her.         sexual & romantic orientation.     lesbian.         occupation.     owner @ the velvet brew.          time in bear creek.     seven years.         neighborhood.     wildflower way.         positive   traits.     assertive,  astute,  decisive.         neutral   traits.     daring,  outspoken,  questioning.         negative   traits.     abrasive,  curt,  driven.

      ✤      TWO         ›         STORY   .

(  !  )   CW:   hardcore daddy issues.   bits of parental emotional abuse,  although nothing explicit.   be careful nonetheless.

born into a family of surgeons,  it wasn’t truly a surprise when you became one.   but before that,  there was a childhood,  one full of love and happiness and a type of indulgence that lasted until everything started to slowly disappear under the crushing weight of expectations.

you were nine the first time it happened—the moment you realized there had been a weight upon your shoulders all this time,  but that it had never showed up its ugly face until failure came knocking on your door.   you were nine,  and you failed in a ballet concert when you saw disappointment in your father’s eyes for the first time.   it made your heart recoil between your lungs,  leaving you breathless,  with unshed tears gathered in the corner of your eyes because no,  you weren’t going to cry,  not in front of him,  not ever.   you learned about something you didn’t want to witness again that day,  and it changed you forever.

expectations didn’t subside;  of course they didn’t.   on the contrary,  they became bigger,  heavier,  more brutal.   and so did you.   by the time you entered adolescence,  you were a force to be reckoned with,  excelling in everything you did—gymnastics ?   medals hung on the walls of your father's study with pride.   ballet ?   you never failed a concert again. school ?   aced every test,  every homework.   you were brilliant,  yet it turned out  …   it was never enough.   there was always another expectation,  a higher one.   there was always another goal to achieve,  another record to beat.   you were relentless and so immersed in never seeing disappointment again in your father’s brown orbs that you never realized how tired you were.

you went to med school because it was expected of you,  of course,  but you learned to love it.   in the end,  everyone in your family was a doctor—neurosurgeons,  trauma surgeons,  cardiologists,  oncologists  …   you name them,  and you’d find someone in the family with the title and the degree.   so when you were next in line,  you faced your duty proudly,  yet you decided to,  at least,  do it your way.   you have decided to do things your way a long time ago.

you became a surgeon by thirty-four,  and there was disappointment in your father’s eyes for the first time in years when you decided to take pediatrics instead of something else,  anything else.   but you were tired,  tired of fighting to avoid disappointment,  tired of doing things for others and not yourself.   college had changed you;  you’d become something beyond expectations,  but still feral.   yet the exhaustion of your soul never left,  not until bear creek appeared on the map after years and years and years of working relentlessly in the only thing you ever knew,  in the thing that,  despite your own decisions,  was never a choice you could make.

so you didn’t think it twice. 

you were forty-six the day you left everything behind and moved to bear creek,  the day you arrived in the little town,  brought a coffee shop,  and decided to start a life so different from the one you’ve been living you almost had a meltdown when you realized what you’ve done.   but it was done;  you have decided for yourself,  for the first time in decades,  you were doing something you truly wanted,  living an experience you truly desired to have for the first time in ages.   so there was not coming back.

these days,  after seven years,  you thrive as the owner of the velvet brew.   you have learned to soften your sharp character  ( even though you aren’t very successful most of the time ),  take care of your employees who always come first,  and paint your countenance with a practiced sweet smile reserved particularly for your regular clients.

you live a quiet life,  even if lonely sometimes,  but what else could you ask for ?   yes,  you miss medicine sometimes;  you miss the recognition,  the challenges,  the thrill,  but you love your calmness more;  you love the little,  new life you’ve built for yourself,  by yourself.   and that’s something you’re not willing to give up.

      ✤      THREE         ›         HEADCANONS   .

     i.     cordelia’s character is a difficult,  harsh one.   she has very low tolerance and will call you on your bullshit without a second thought.   she doesn’t appreciate stupidity,  disrespect,  or overfamiliarity.   however,  she has a terribly soft side that can often be seen around kids or in private with those she cares about.       ii.     she hates reading,  used to have the hardest of times with it in school,  but she found a way of liking it through comics.   they are her guilty pleasure,  so almost nobody knows about this,  and if you do,  she will murder you if you ever say something about it.   her favorite characters are wonder woman,  poison ivy,  and the x-men.   she also has a special place in her heart for scott pilgrim’s comics.      iii.     an absolute workaholic,  she adores lending a hand at the coffee shop.   you will often find her behind the counter,  working along her employees.   however,  if she’s not there,  she’s probably seated in a corner doing administrative work.         iv.     hardcore wine enthusiast,  so much so that she took a sommelier course during her college years,  and is always reading about new developments in winemaking.   her favorite grapevine is pinot noir.      v.     despite having a quiet,  mostly lonely life,  she doesn’t lack company when she wants it.   she has a strong group of friends,  and a few,  regular booty calls she trusts completely.      vi.     she has a black cat who is as moody as her,  her name is amélie, and cordelia is almost the only person she trusts and likes.      vii.     she’s a mean cook,  loves to do it for herself and others;  it helps her relax and let go of the stress after a particularly harsh day.   also,  she loves to have taste testers,  people willing to try her food and give her honest feedback  ( hmu if you’re interested to fill this connection with your muse ! ).      viii.     hardcore, super proud lesbian,  especially because she grew up in a very conservative household,  and coming to terms with it and living her sexuality freely was an absolute challenge.   she loves women and is not afraid to say it or show it.