* final darlings

click the muse name below to be taken to their intro! 

celia thomas 

dolly jensen

ellis flores

georgette song

glenda adams 

johanna prinsen 

ozzy morrison

veronica velasco

“oh please, the amount of band-aids i went through when my brother first started learning to skateboard? this was nothing. plus i’m pretty sure there’s some kind of quote that’s like it’s not about how many times you fall down, it’s about how many times you get up. as you come to know me, you will find that i’m not easily deterred.” 

viola moved slowly as they talked and she focused both on listening to johanna and making sure they were careful in their walk. she was sure they would be fine but it didn’t help to take extra caution. “i imagine that feels pretty amazing. gives wind in your hair a whole new meaning, your arms are freer than they are on a bike. i respect it.” viola could see herself doing it and figured it couldn’t hurt to try, even if she got a few bruises along the way. “not really your thing, huh? i don’t know, you’d look very badass on a skateboard if you ask me.” the more they walked, the easier it was to let silence carry them for a little bit and viola had a moment to really consider something that had been ghosting around her mind for a while. what if looking out for people in her community was really what she was destined to do this entire time? it sounded silly as she said it, like she was making herself some superhero but really she just hated to think that people were going around feeling the same pain she was, or even worse. “you feeling better?”

despite  how  hard  johanna  found  it  to  accept  help,  occasionally  someone  came  into  her  life  that  made  it  hard  for  her  to  reject  the  offer. viola,  it  appeared,  was  one  of  those  people. she  had  a  gentle  yet  strong  energy,  one  that  reassured  johanna  that  she  was  trustworthy,  while  also  sure  of  herself  and  her  own  actions. whether  or  not  that  last  part  was  entirely  true  was  unknown  to  johanna,  but  viola  at  least  displayed  a  confidence  in  her  current  situation,  and  that  helped  johanna  to  trust  her  quite  a  lot. she  felt  like  she  was  in  good  hands  with  viola;  she  believed  that  viola’s  method  of  helping  was  a  healthy  exchange,  and  as  a  girl  who  had  experienced  healthy  dynamics  so  infrequently  in  her  life,  it  really  meant  a  lot  to  johanna. none  of  what  she  thought  would  be  said  aloud,  but  regardless,  it  certainly  was  felt. “i  suppose  you’re  right,”  johanna  nodded,  a  little  smile  following.    

 “it  does  feel  amazing,”  johanna  confirmed,  and  as  she  thought  about  it,  she  realised  that  it  might  have  been  the  only  thing  she  had  in  her  life  that  truly  did;  it  was  one  of  her  only  escapes,  and  while  that  was  pretty  sad,  it  was  also  pretty  special  that  she  had  something. “have  you  ever  thought  of  taking  up  your  brothers  hobby?”  she  asked,  talking  about  skating  of  course,  assuming  her  aforementioned  brother  still  skated. “thanks,”  she  laughed  quietly  and  sheepishly,  but  she  did  appreciate  viola’s  complimenting. viola’s  energy  lulled  viola  into  a  state  of  calm  -  much  calmer  than  earlier,  at  least  -  and  it  didn’t  go  unappreciated  by  the  scuffed  up  woman. even  if  it  turned  out  to  be  their  one  and  only  interaction,  johanna  felt  very  grateful  for  it,  even  falling  into  a  comfortable  silence  with  the  other. “yeah,”  she  answered  truthfully. “thank  you. i’m  not  usually... not  usually  like  this,”  her  laughter  was  once  again  sheepish. “but  i  appreciate  the  help,”  she  added. 

“I agree. My stack is finally slowly but surely beginning to shrink,” he informed her. He was sure that his past teacher would like to hear that he still kept up with his reading even though he hadn’t kept up with her class. The actual learning in school had never been Ian’s problem. He was still an avid reader amongst his other solitary activities he liked to partake in. Getting lost in a good book was a good excuse to not do something else and since he wasn’t going out much at all he found quite a bit of time to read. 

“I think that there is. It’s not just lonely people who have animals. There’s certainly benefits to caring for a cat that I didn’t expect,” Ian told her. Ian hadn’t felt particularly lonely before Stinky got into their lives but the addition of the animal certainly rounded out the little family he was forming with Bo. “Well make sure you’re extra vigilant at the gas station. That’s where we found Stinky. He was in one of the trash cans tossed out like garbage,” he explained. They hadn’t been looking for a cat either at the time but he’d found them and it was hard to let Stinky go since Bo instantly bonded with the dirty little ball of fur. 

“Yeah, I like the commune too,” Ian agreed even though he’d been raised by someone who saw no good in any of those “dirty rotten hippies” as his grandmother so lovingly referred to people like his own mother and in turn the people at the commune. It’d taken Leaf entering Ian’s life to really change his perspective on alternative ways of living and had things gone differently with Leaf he might’ve joined the commune himself at one point. He was content where he was though with the friendship he shared amongst members and enjoying their wares from time to time. “I haven’t been out there recently though I should. It’s really beautiful this time of year with all the leaves changing.”

glenda  definitely  was  pleased  to  hear  that  ian  still  read,  though  she  couldn’t  say  it  surprised  her  all  that  much. most  good  teachers  would  never  admit  to  having  favourite  students,  but  every  teacher  had  students  that  they  liked  more  than  others,  along  with  students  that  they  even  disliked  from  time  to  time. ian  had  always  been  a  student  of  hers  that  she  liked;  she  always  thought  it  was  such  a  shame  that  he  didn’t  complete  his  high  school  education,  but  she  might  have  even  gone  as  far  as  to  say  that  he  seemed  to  have  made  the  right  choice,  considering  the  stable  life  he  now  lived  -  as  stable  as  one  could  live  in  shrike  heights. “well  if  you  ever  find  yourself  at  the  bottom  of  the  stack  in  need  of  more  recommendations,  you  know  where  to  find  me,”  she  offered. while  glenda  had  taken  a  break  from  teaching  due  to  the  killer  induced  stress  she  struggled  with,  she  would  never  quit  teaching  outside  of  the  classroom.   

she  laughed  at  ian’s  recommendation  to  be  extra  vigilant  at  the  gas  station. with  everything  going  on  in  town,  glenda  was  always  extra  vigilant,  not  wanting  to  face  the  killers  another  time,  but  thankfully  those  thoughts  were  far  from  her  mind  as  she  laughed  in  amusement  over  the  idea  of  being  especially  aware  at  the  gas  station  of  all  places. “that’s  absolutely  awful,  i’m  not  laughing  at  what  the  poor  little  guy  went  through,”  she  told  him,  sincerity  in  the  way  she  spoke  even  through  the  calming  laughter. “i  just  imagined  myself  with  binoculars  or  something,  looking  for  a  little  critter  to  take  home  with  me  while  i  filled  up  my  tank,”  she  explained. “but  that’s  the  exact  kind  of  situation  that  i’d  like  to  find  myself  with  a  pet,  after  finding  some  poor  little  thing  lost  or  thrown  out  somewhere,”  it  was  similar  to  how  glenda  felt  in  her  own  family,  forgotten  about,  discarded;  it  was  awful  that  it  happened  to  any  living  creature,  but  glenda  believed  herself  able  to  turn  an  animal’s  life  around  -  should  she  find  an  animal  in  need. maybe  it  would  even  be  therapeutic  for  her;  maybe  she  should  bring  binoculars  down  to  the  gas  station.    

xena’s sincerity was enough to make alma blush. it was nice to feel wanted in any capacity but definitely in one that meant wanting to be in their company more often. at least that was how alma saw it as much as it was a belief in their talents. “okay, i will definitely give it thought!” they pressed their hands to their cheeks for a moment. “you’re gonna keep making me blush but for the record i would be very happy if you ever presented me with a song that you wrote about me. i mean is there anything more swoon worthy? i think not.” and that was probably an understatement. if xena had ever presented them with a song they’d probably be beaming so hard they would actually turn into the sun. 

“you didn’t dump anything on me, that’s what friends are for. to help through the shitty parts too, you know? i’d much rather listen to you than watch you explode anyway. i don’t think i’d recover from that,” they added with a wink before leaning over to press a light kiss to xena’s cheek. “like i said, if i’m always here to listen and if you ever want to have a distraction i’ll just tell you all the stories from my jobs across the day and that should be enough. might also put you to sleep too but a nap never really hurt anyone, right? i mean i guess it could…” alma trailed off as they got caught up in their own words and thoughts and laughed. “sorry, anyway, i’m glad you told me. i really care about you, you know? always will. you can count on that.”

xena  had  met  many  people  in  her  life  who  were  unfortunately  not  so  kind,  and  not  so  good;  she  was  a  lucky  enough  to  have  stayed  out  of  too  much  trouble  or  harm  for  the  majority  of  her  life,  but  especially  after  her  experience  with  the  killers,  xena  knew  how  awful  humanity  could  be  -  if  you  could  even  count  the  shrike  killers  as  human. it  was  this  that  solidified  her  values,  and  reminded  her  each  and  every  day  how  important  her  friends  and  her  loved  ones  were. while  some  people  might  have  thought  her  to  be  sappy  because  of  how  she  expressed  her  fondness  for  those  she  cared  about,  xena  couldn’t  have  cared  less  about  what  they  thought. it  was  always  a  good  time  to  be  honest  with  your  affection,  she  believed. “it’s  a  good  thing  a  blush  looks  good  on  you,  then,”  she  smiled. “don’t  get  too  ahead  of  yourself,”  she  began  to  tease  the  other,  mischief  on  her  face. “i  never  said  i  was  going  to  write  a  good  song  about  you,”  she  grinned  wide,  amusement  mixing  with  the  mischief. “i  couldn’t  write  a  bad  thing  about  you  if  i  tried;  couldn’t  even  think  it,”  she  disclosed,  wanting  to  make  it  very  obvious  that  it  had  only  been  a  joke. alma  was  as  flawed  as  any  other  individual  in  their  own  way,  but  xena  still  considered  them  to  be  pretty  perfect.  

 “thanks,  alma,”  she  didn’t  say  much  in  return  of  their  words,  but  she  did  listen  intently,  and  she  took  care  to  really  process  what  alma  had  told  her. it  wasn’t  like  xena  to  be  so  open  with  the  harder  things,  it  being  much  more  in  character  for  her  to  become  isolated  and  reserved  when  struggling,  but  there  was  so  much  comfort  to  be  found  in  opening  up  to  alma. “i  really  appreciate  you,”  she  told  her. “i  really  care  about  you  too  -  enough  to  actually  write  a  song  about  you,”  she  laughed. “thank  you,”  she  concluded  again. “and  this  goes  both  ways,”  she  suddenly  remembered  to  remind  them. “if  you  need  me  for  anything,  or  want  me  for  anything,  or  just  want  someone  or  a  distraction  or  a  nap,”  she  laughed. “i’m  your  girl,”  she  offered. “that’s  what  friends  are  for,”  she  repeated  alma’s  earlier  words.

located at a park downtown. this is an open starter for @shrikestart

the weight on dolly's shoulders was no longer so heavy, no longer so extreme, so intense, difficult to live with. so much time had passed since the last attack had happened, and while dolly and her loved ones - along with all of the other affected shrike residents - were still dealing with the effects of all previous attacks, dolly felt like she could finally breathe again. the fresh fall air was particularly nice to breathe as dolly walked through the park, a woven wood basket in hand, contents protected by a yellow gingham tea towel. while summer was at the top of dolly's lists of favourite season, fall had always been an easy second.

“well they should call you the employee of the month, i’ll write a very strong worded letter in support of you.” it was easy to talk to veronica, at least alma thought so and not just because she was behind the bar. but because her energy had welcomed alma in and alma was all too eager to have a friend. even with the ones they had, they couldn’t shake the loneliness that crept up in them daily. moments like these, it was easy to help that settle and just enjoy a moment with someone who truly considered them a friend. “ah look at you, you said friend and you didn’t even choke on your words, don’t you feel proud of yourself? i’m proud. not employee of the month proud but still definitely proud.” the mention of finding a peaceful corner together in shrike made alma feel excited and at ease all the same, already finding herself looking forward to it. “i’m sure we can. it sounds like a dream right now but i believe in us. i can get a lot done when i put my head to it.” they held up their glass before taking some healthy sips and letting out an exaggerated ‘ahh.’ “Okay so now I’m the listener, what’s the most annoying customer experience you’ve had? my final question and then i have to actually go catch my ride.”

veronica  laughed  at  the  offer  of  the  strongly  worded  letter. “thank  you  very  much,  it’s  what  i  deserve,”  they  joked. they  were  a  decent  employee,  they  supposed,  but  they  weren’t  anything  special. they  might  have  done  enough  to  be  considered  the  employee  of  the  month  -  despite  never  having  been  awarded  the  title  -  but  they  were  confident  in  the  ability  of  some  of  their  co-workers,  too,  across  each  store  they  worked  at. if  they  were  never  awarded  such  a  title,  they  wouldn’t  find  themself  too  down  about  it,  but  if  alma  really  wanted  to  write  in  to  their  manager  -  something  that  they  seriously  didn’t  expect  their  friend  to  do  -  they  would  also  be  fine  with  that. “i  don’t  feel  proud,”  they  began,  setting  themself  up  to  joke  around  just  a  little  more  -  because  it  wasn’t  like  veronica  to  be  overly  serious,  not  unless  it  was  a  genuinely  serious  or  scary  moment. “while  i  didn’t  choke,  i  did  feel  a  little  faint,”  they  broke  from  their  joke  to  laugh. “you  know  what?  i  believe  in  us  too,”  veronica  encouraged,  and  while  she  was  still  in  a  playful  mood,  she  meant  it  sincerely,  her  tone  indicating  as  such. “ooh,  most  annoying  customer  experience?”  while  she  thought  on  it,  she  leant  her  elbows  on  the  bar,  and  her  chin  in  her  hands. “i  think  actually  that  might  have  been  a  shift  i  had  here  a  while  back,  when  my  ex  came  in  with  a  group  of  friends. it  was  more  uncomfortable  than  it  was  annoying,  but  it  also  was  super  annoying  because  she  didn’t  even  acknowledge  who  i  was,  you  know?  and  it  just  pissed  me  off  completely,  to  be  treated  like  we  didn’t  have  history,”  her  nose  wrinkled  in  distaste. “there’s  probably  been  a  lot  of  other  more  petty  kinds  of  annoying  experiences,  but  that  was  the  first  to  come  to  mind.”

               “ flawless ? oh yeah . get used to both using and hearing that word around me . ” ernie had never been considered flawless , not at all even close to it , and not at all even on his best days ; ernie was so far from perfect , he was deeply and terribly flawed , so imperfect that he ran from his true self by fabricating stories and avoiding closeness and connections based on trust and respect . ernie was damaged , and he was aware of that , but something inside of him - perhaps that very same deep damage that had been done to him long ago - forced him to keep on making things worse by instinctively trying to convince others that he was the complete opposite . it made perfect sense , why he had the coping mechanisms that he did , but at the end of the day , it really didn’t help ernie to reclaim his life and make it a truly good one . brief discomfort washed over him , but as they walked down the street and as ozzy kept speaking to him , he was able to push it down , just as he had done with the rest of the pain and suffering that he was dealing with after his attack . “ time is fucking weird . ” he agreed . “ like , i literally can’t believe that we’ve been working at the mall for so long already , and that the plaza has been gone for years now . ”

“I know,” Ian simply replied. She didn’t have to elaborate any further and he didn’t have to speak about it any further. No one ever assumes they’d fall victim to an attack. Ian certainly hadn’t prior to his own and it was a sobering experience in the aftermath. He didn’t want to force her to dwell on it. Besides he really didn’t have much to say. Words failed him right now and he didn’t think there was a right thing to say. “That’s a good idea. I’ll have to ask him next time I see him. It’d be good for Bo, he still forgets his key from time to time,” he went on hopefully lightening the conversation a little bit. It wasn’t very important that Bo had a key because the two went to work at the same times and if Bo was out Ian was usually at home waiting up anyways. 

It was so tough watching Dolly like this. He’d never seen her this down before and it was scary watching more and more of the people closest to him affected in this way. He wouldn’t push her on providing more for Ian to do even though it was in his nature to help out as much as possible. “That’s a good thing and I don’t doubt that you’ve got everything you absolutely need right now,” he promised. She had family and Topher and the people closest to her reaching out. That was probably what she needed most right now over actual things. “You were there for me 100 fold, of course I’m here for you,” he said not wanting to trigger anything by bringing up his own attack but how Dolly reacted then certainly influenced his readiness to help now. “And you can tell me to buzz off whenever you want,” he insisted knowing that it was often awkward sitting with these emotions around others even if he could relate and understand. Ian didn’t want Dolly feeling as if she had to entertain him at all right now. 

dolly  could  tell  that  ian  was  trying  his  hardest  in  their  conversation,  and  while  she  first  and  foremost  felt  so  much  appreciation  for  her  friend  and  his  attempt  at  helping  her  -  both  in  general  and  in  their  current  conversation  -  dolly  also  felt  so  guilty  for  putting  ian  in  the  position  in  which  he  was  in. even  as  she  felt  it,  she  knew  it  was  so  silly  to  feel  that  way,  but  she  couldn’t  help  it,  particularly  not  in  her  already  devastated  and  emotionally  exhausted  state. ian  would  do  anything  for  her  so  gladly,  but  that  didn’t  mean  that  he  deserved  to  have  to  go  through  all  of  the  pain  associated  with  dolly  right  now,  especially  not  after  it  was  so  close  to  his  own  trauma,  both  in  regards  to  how  little  time  had  passed  and  how  similar  her  situation  was  to  his  own  attack. “that  sounds  like  bo,”  she  told  him,  nodding  her  head  softly  as  it  throbbed  with  a  headache  earnt  from  tears  and  dehydration. she  tried  her  best  to  follow  the  encouragement  of  more  light-heartedness,  but  that  was  hard  to  do. for  the  first  time  in  her  life,  she  felt  like  she  was  far  more  quiet  than  ian  was,  left  almost  completely  speechless  after  that  night  in  the  mall.

topher had always been an anxious person, for as long as he could remember, to the point where he had come to the conclusion that he had been born that way. his anxiety came out in a lot of different ways, in every single situation that he found himself in, and most of the time nothing really worked to soothe it. but dolly could soothe him. topher had never experienced it before, he had never known anyone else who happened to know just what he needed in his moments of grief, anxiety and pain, not even in his past relationship, which he had considered his closest connection before he grew to be so close and intimate with dolly. dolly was such a gentle person, but at the same time, she was so strong, and such a beautiful source of comfort and reassurance for topher. with dolly, topher felt a bravery that he had never known he possessed; with dolly, topher was a better man in every way. “i know, beautiful.” his smile was proof of just how smitten he was. “i don’t think i’ll ever have you beat, but you make me want to try, and you make trying worth it. more than worth it.” he kissed her head with sweetness, feeling like he wasn’t able to properly express just how much he loved her, and being with her, but he felt confident that he had so much time to get that message across, which was particularly special for someone who had never felt confident in any way before.

dolly had such a special way of making topher feel good about himself, which was a feeling he had only briefly experienced a few times for a few quick flashes throughout his entire life. she was such a special woman, and topher couldn’t believe that she not only was his, but that she thought he was the special one. he had never had so much positive affection before, but he had quickly come to believe that love and connection was the most important thing in the world, at least, in his world. “it still blows my mind, you know,” he began, after all of those sweet kisses and compliments. “that someone as perfect as you can think that i’m the perfect one.” the slow and sweet kiss was reciprocated with as much love as topher could express through a kiss; the two knew that they loved each other, but those confessions were still rare in the newness of the relationship, which led to topher trying to get the message across in every single way possible. once they pulled away again, just as dolly didn’t particularly want to be let go, topher didn’t particularly want to put her down. with a chuckle, topher began walking them into the kitchen. “you don’t need to tell me twice.” he laughed, his grin so wide. he made it to the kitchen, the smell of the freshly baked cookies getting stronger once there, and then he carefully sat the woman down on the kitchen counter, next to the cooling rack containing all of the baked goods. “they look almost as delicious as you,” he told her, and he blushed as he flirted, flirting still coming out in a not so natural way.

dolly  had  always  thought  so  highly  of  topher,  no  matter  how  anxious  or  awkward  he  found  himself  at  either  the  best  or  the  worst  of  times. dolly  could  see  beyond  that,  she  could  see  the  true  topher  through  his  anxiety,  and  at  the  same  time,  she  also  loved  topher  even  while  anxious  and  awkward. that  wasn’t  to  say  that  she  loved  him  being  anxious,  or  that  she  loved  him  struggling,  or  suffering  in  any  way,  but  she  thought  the  fact  that  he  was  so  anxious  wasn’t  anything  that  he  should  be  ashamed  of. at  the  same  time,  topher  was  still  one  of  the  most  golden  hearted  people  that  she  had  ever  met  in  her  life,  and  he  was  far  more  capable  than  he  gave  himself  credit  for. “i  don’t  know,  toph. don’t  be  so  sure  that  you  won’t  be  the  winner,”  his  words  had  completely  melted  dolly’s  heart;  her  insides  felt  as  gooey  as  the  melted  chocolate  in  her  freshly  baked  batch  of  choc  chip  cookies. “i  love  you,”  she  told  him  after  their  kiss,  unable  to  hold  the  affection  back  any  longer.