last call.

muses:

annelise "elise" astor | intro | inspo

catalina "cat" young | intro | inspo

People come and go through Maple Brook, that much Catalina knew. Many childhood friends had gone to city-wards, many new friends had come from smaller towns. Or maybe it was reversed?

In any case, Catalina had no trouble making bouquets for any of them. She loved to convey love through flowers, a translator from one person's affection to another.

She's working on a birthday bouquet when someone familiar walks through the door and Catalina is so glad no one else is here when she exclaims, "joanna!"

Catalina Young

look who goes there! It’s Catalina Young. wait, you don’t know who she is? the fifty-two year old florist at wallflower has been in town for, like, fifty-two years (mostly). i believe they live in broomley, but i usually see them around aurora's fair. they can be a bit nosy, but i think being a complete romantic kinda balances them out, you know?

ABOUT

| Tw Parental Death, Mild Medical Scares |

Catalina Young is the youngest child of an actress and photographer. From a young age, her parents taught her about seeing life positively and romanticizing all the little things. They wanted their daughter to always see the glass half full.

Growing up, Cat's mother had always been a little ill. The story was that her mother had complications from pneumonia and bronchitis a few years after Cat was born, from which she never fully recovered. Cat grew up taking care of a lot of household chores, and even household finances as her dad took care of making money for the home. He put his photographer work to the side in favor of a lucrative desk job which kept the family in relative comfort and would paid for Catalina's schooling.

Unfortunately, in her first year of college, Catalina's mother passed due to complications with what should have been a routine medical procedure. Catalina dropped out of school to help her father at home, eventually achieving her undergraduate degree in Communications at twenty-nine after a series of further family misfortunes.

Still, Catalina was positive! She was a complete romantic and ‘fixer’ and has always tried to find the best solutions to her friends' and family's problems.

Though sometimes this backfires, Catalina takes every chance she can to see these as growth opportunities. Just like when she was a kid, Cat tries to make the best out of any situation.

Catalina has had a series of jobs, all of which she’s had difficulty finding meaning in. For a long time, she'd stuck it out at a desk job reconciling invoices for freelancers, though this proved tedious and unfulfilling.

Eventually, she landed a job Wallflower and she became entirely enamored. Though her family doesn't get why she'd leave a stable job to make follow arrangements, they support her as long as she's happy. Catalina's been at Wallflower for ten years, often helping people find arrangements for events and sometimes reading their fortune (via horoscope, tarot cards, or cartomancy).

Moving Forward / Plotting Ideas

Many people come to Catalina to celebrate big occasions! She always knows what kind of flowers to use in a bouquet!

Catalina can get herself into trouble, becoming a little too involved in other people’s business. Most of her interest in people starts with a bouquet, but her imagination and wild ideas can quickly spiral out into situations she wasn’t quite ready for.

Catalina likes photography and learned some basics from her dad. While she's not a professional, she does like taking candid photos of friends and family in special moments of their lives.

One of Cat's guilty pleasures is window shopping. She doesn't always purchase something, but she loves hyping up her companions if someone comes with her.

Annelise "Elise" Astor

look who goes there! It’s Annelise “Elise” Astor. wait, you don’t know who she is? the fifty-five year old administrative support at the maple brook post has been in town for, like, thirty-one years. i believe they live in springdale, but i usually see them around nine lives cafe. they can be a bit judgmental, but i think being kind kinda balances them out, you know?

ABOUT

Anneliese has always been the 'second-favorite.' First-born, but too independent for her parents’ attention. Top of her class, but didn’t stand out enough to be particularly notable. All her life, she’s been told that she’s good, but not necessarily great.

The summer after she graduated university, Annelise moved to Maple Brook, wanting to be commuting distance (all things considered) from NYC. While she originally had aspirations to work in the city, she ended up falling in love with Maple Brook more than she thought.

Annelise’s first passion is writing, though she knows that she’d make a terrible starving artist. Her original plan was to commute into the city and try to work in publishing, but circumstances changed and Annelise decided she'd rather work more locally in Maple Brook.

Eventually, this led to a job at the Maple Brook Post.

At first, Annelise -- opting to go by Elise as part of her ✨ shiny ✨ new life -- had started out helping do layout proofing and basic administrative tasks at the Maple Brook post. Eventually, she worked her way up to an Administrative Position, handling some elements of HR, but mostly focusing on making sure the organization runs smoothly.

She can be a bit protective and uptight about the day-to-day operations but overall means well and tries to keep those in the office in good spirits. She often sets up office outings and offers advice to her younger co-workers.

Still, people do call her a workaholic at times.

Though Elise tends to make friends rather easily, she has a terrible track record with dating. Her longest relationship roughly seven-years, though her shortest was three-days. In her seven-year relationship, she acted functionally as a stepmother to her partner’s daughter. Since then, Elise wonders what it would be like to be a mother - though, at her age, she tries not to think about what 'might' have been.

Her hobbies include cooking and baking, as well as hosting dinners for her friends. Somehow, her apartment is always able to accommodate everyone with just a bit of rearranging the furniture.

Moving Forward / Plotting Ideas

In town, Elise would like to start a book club for anyone to join! She thinks it’s a good way to support Book Voyage and the local library.

She likes buying Fresh Produce from Aurora's Fair and walking around the Greens.

Elise would like to get some closure with her ex!