blackout.

Eden Zhao (28, demi male, he/they) was seen listening to "Black Out Days" by Phantogram. Eden is a photo studio owner and known to be observant & distrusting.

[ basics ]

Name: Eden Zhao / 赵逸凡 (Zhào Yìfán)

Gender & Pronouns: Demi male (he/they)

Age: 28

Sexuality: Pansexual

Birthdate: January 7, 1993

Birthplace: Shanghai, China

Occupation: Photo studio owner & former child actor

OPEN STARTER location: yesteryears antiques. 

“Ah, yes,” Eymen spoke out, the admiration in his voice evident. “That’s a one of a kind piece, got it from an auction just last week, the sellers really didn’t appreciate its beauty in the slightest, a shame for them. A win for me, and perhaps yourself?” He spoke out, cautiously approaching the patron, not wanting to overstep and make them uncomfortable, but still he always got excited over any piece that caught someone’s eye in his shop. “I was almost a bit selfish and didn’t put it on sale, but then I might get an earful for adding more nick-nacks to our home.” 

“Well, it’s absolutely lovely — and in such great condition too. Truly their loss,” Ginny said, still marveling at the vanity as she replied to the man. “I’ll take it, just name your price.” Her clients had given her quite the hefty budget, and it would simply be a shame if she were to let it go to waste. Finally tearing her eyes away, she turned to face the man who she assumed was the owner of the shop. “Nonsense, you can never have too many nick-nacks in your home. Well, as long as they’re artfully placed that is. Showing them off all in one area may scream cluttered, but tastefully sprinkling them throughout your home can tie each room together.”

{ - } 

Dayo had never felt quite so hyped up after a concert, even though it was one of the smallest they’d ever done, in many senses of the word. Tiny chairs, a tiny audience, and tiny high-fives at the end? It was different, but kind of amazing. When Luisa made her way back in, Dayo let out a hearty chuckle, the kind that came from their heart feeling a little fuller.

“Me? I feel amazing… Are they always that excited about everything?” they asked, still watching the teacher as he leaned down to re-zip their guitar case. There was a little more pep to his movement than they’d left their cousin’s apartment with that morning, enough for them to notice it. “They really are great. And, hey– you too! Bringing me in here… I know it was for them, but I uh… I feel like I needed that too.”

“Well, yes and no. Those little rascals have so much excitement for life — it’s seriously contagious. But the excitement I saw today...I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it was different. I’ve never seen them so engaged like that before,” Louisa said, making a point of looking Dayo in the eye. “You have something special, really.”

Now, Louisa knew she was a nosy person — people have told her countless times. But she liked to think she had developed a knack for reading people after her years of teaching, and it simply wasn’t her to leave a topic alone when she sensed some sort of inner battle. “I wanted this to be a good experience for the kids but if you got some comfort from this too, then all the better,” she began, circling to the front of her desk and leaning against the ledge. “Do you...want to talk about it? Not that I want to pry, I’m sure you get enough of that already. But like I tell my kids — any secrets they tell me in this classroom stays in this classroom.”

{ - }

Connor, who spent more time talking to animals than people most days, held no judgements for Talia. Especially not when the puppy seemed so completely content in her hands - she was taking good care of him and, ultimately, that was his only concern. Admittedly, her felt an undercurrent of anxiety (then again, when didn’t he?) as she moved to pick up another dog, but naturally, she was a little more steady on his feet than he might have been. “I, ah… think he’d be thanking you, if it weren’t for the– you know, the… sleeping.” It was a clumsy joke, with clumsier delivery, but what more could be expected of him?

He paused, with a slight tilt of his head. “Yes, and no? I– I’m lucky here, I have… staff, and people who offer up their time when they can… but I– I try not to keep anybody hanging around in the evening. They’ve got… lives, families, all that stuff,” he explained, with a little shrug, and a careful adjustment of the puppy in his own hand. “So I wind up doing a lot of this– putting away, closing down kind of stuff. It’s kind of nice, really! It’s, uh… Calming.” He shook his head a little, “and I like these little… events, I guess, if they can be called that– one of those… win-win things, you know? You guys get the… emotional support, and the puppies get a little socialisation. Really, you guys are all doing me a favour…”

Talia listened intently as she scooped up the second pup into her arms. “Whoa! That’s nice of you. I mean it seems so obvious — like duh! Of course employees have lives and stuff to do. But trust, I’ve had so many bosses that were like ‘if you cared about your job then you’d work overtime’ and it’s like, okay, easy for you to say when you clock out at five on the dot,” she rambled as she carefully maneuvered over the baby gate that Connor had entered from. “Long story short, what I’m trying to say is that it’s nice of you to take on stuff so your staff don’t have to.” 

She paused for a second. “Well, not nice that you have to do more stuff. But still nice that you find it calming, and nice that you have a job you like! That probably makes being an adult suck much less.” As she followed Connor down the hall towards the kennels, one of the puppies in her arms started to squirm ever so slightly. “It’s okay little dude, we’re almost there,” she said in a hushed tone, using her thumb to rub soothing circles into its fur. “So, how did you come across all these animals? Like, do you find them all and take them in?”

Gen smiled– law was something she’d always wanted to get into and after a short period of time, she’d started to get a better idea of where she wanted to go with it. “Yeah, I hope so. At least something that won’t make me want to fall asleep while doing the reading,” she joked, though it wasn’t far from true. “That’s a great plan honestly. You’ll be sure to really love what you find eventually that way.”

"See! Thank you! It’s just, everyone tells me that my plan isn’t a plan and that I don’t know what I’m doing, but isn’t planning to try a bit of everything until I figure it out...a plan?” Talia paused, suddenly self-aware of her rambling. She knew she was prone to talking a little too much, but she figured she shouldn’t disrupt poor Gen than she already had. “That made a lot more sense in my head than it did out loud. Anyways! Point is, I’m glad I at least have a future lawyer on my side. Like, who’s going to argue me on that now?”

“hello to you too adelaide.” he said, a grin appearing on his face as she moved to sit down. “you’re looking lovely as ever my dear cousin.” he said, moving to hold out a menu for her given he’d already decided. “i’m alright. missing the sea life if i’m being honest.” he said. the weather was too cold for casual trips at the moment, so he was pretty much land bound right now. 

"Flattery will get you everywhere,” she joked as she took the menu with a smile. “At least this will give you time to regain your...land legs? Did I use that right? Anyways, it’ll warm up soon enough. Though, I think it’ll be nice for you to take this break considering you’ve only been back for a few months, you know?” she said, pursing her lips as the bachelor party incident crossed her mind. In an attempt to distract herself, Adelaide focused on flagging down a waiter.

{ - }

As much as Dayo loved to needle Eden specifically, they had enough tact not to push for details. They’d been every bit as vague with their own answer to the same question anyway. “Huh… You and me both,” he muttered, distracted momentarily by his drink appearing on the counter. They took hold of it, and watched Eden, pleasant surprise slowly taking hold.That was a hell of a lot more than the ‘now get lost’ that they were expecting.

Dayo, who had next to nothing set to do with their day at that point, took the offer in stride. They followed behind Eden with a slowly returning smirk, and a slight bounce to their steps, like they just knew they were in for a blast. Dayo plopped down into one of the empty table’s chairs, an arm strewn across the back of it while he leaned against the wall, in a stance so casual it bordered on obnoxious. “So,” they paused for a sip, which was short-lived and came with a frown since the drink was still scalding, “here we are, both in Huntsville… What’re the odds, right? Now’s my turn to ask what you’re doing here… in a work way, not a smartass right-now-I’m-getting-coffee way.”

Taking a seat at the table, Eden didn’t know why he was surprised to see Dayo do the same — he had offered for them to join him, after all. Maybe he was just surprised that the other was going to willingly spend their morning with their ex, but then again, wasn’t he doing the same? Eden’s brows furrowed — whatever, he was overthinking it. This wasn’t important right now.

Turning his attention to across the table, Eden’s gaze landed on Dayo just as they took a sip from their clearly hot drink. At the other’s frown, Eden let out a quiet snort. “Careful,” he found himself saying out of habit. Taking a sip from his own drink, he took a second to process Dayo’s question before answering. “My work answer is that I own a photo studio a few blocks down. I mean, it’s not like I had to open a photo studio here of all places, but I wanted somewhere quieter, you know? And I apparently had some family here…uh, family that was never really into the whole “fame” thing so I thought it’d be okay to give them a chance…” Eden trailed off. It wasn’t like his complicated family dynamic would be news to Dayo — it definitely came up in the past more than once. Still, maybe five minutes into reconnecting with your ex wasn’t the best time to get into it again.

Shaking his head, Eden distracted himself with the condensation on his cup. “Enough about me. You said a sabbatical, right? Like…from the group? Or from music?”

{ - }

Lucia watched the young man for a moment, with a certain protectiveness clicking into place. He didn’t look that much younger than her, really, but she couldn’t help having compassion for somebody who looked like they had to swim to get to her store. “Nonsense,” she said softly, taking a few careful steps back through the water that had accumulated on her floor. “If you’re sat down here, you’re a guest, and I wouldn’t dream of having a guest clean up around here.” It was a slow day besides that, and her mop was only in the nearest store cupboard - she made sure to pull it out of its hiding place with a smile, lest he got the idea that she was inconvenienced at all by it.

He wasn’t looking at her, either, which made her hesitant to go on - but she’d always struggled to leave well-enough alone. “Well… You’re free to take refuge here as long as you’d like. Frankly, I could use the company,” she offered, with a quick shrug as she began seeing to the little puddle. “And if you’re anything like me… perhaps you could use something sweet to get you through the worst of it. Anything behind the counter, you name it– although, I’d personally recommend the egg tarts, considering I finished my latest batch less than an hour ago.” A conspiratorial smile crossed her face, as though she was letting him in on some deep trade secrets - he just looked like he could use somebody on his side.

Eden figured there was no use in pushing back any more — the woman seemed pretty firm with her stance, even pulling the mop out with a smile. For the first time since rushing into the shop, he made a conscious effort to relax, even if he couldn’t help watching the other mop up his mess with the tiniest hint of a frown on his face. 

Deciding to just let himself take her words to heart, he removed his jacket and hung it on the back of a nearby chair before taking a seat at that table. He had caused such a commotion already that there was no point in leaving and braving the storm now  — he might as well wait it out. He rested his chin on his hand and let out a tired sigh as he recounted the day’s events, continuing to avoid the woman’s gaze. However, the mention of the sweets was enough to pique his interest, then egg tarts? Eden felt his posture immediately perk up. 

“Egg tarts? Man, I used to love those. Had them all the time with my grandma when she’d take me out in Guangzhou. I mean, I’ve had them since then but it’s not the same when it’s freshly baked, you know? Ha, takes me back...” Eden said, a small smile slipping onto his face before he realized he was rambling  — he always did have a weakness for sweets. Clearing his throat, he pulled himself together before nodding. “All of that to say I’ll take you up on that offer. Sounds like something I could use about now.”

After a few months at The Coterie, Talia was beginning to feel more comfortable in the space. Admittedly, she had spent so much time holed up in her room that she didn’t really know the other residents well, but she blamed that on school  — mostly. She was trying though, which was why she had decided to study out in the common areas today. 

It was a nice change of pace, though it didn’t help with the distractions. After a full three pages of her textbook, Talia decided that she might as well take a break since the kitchen was right there. Wandering in, she wasn’t surprised to see someone else already in there. Usually she’d flash them a polite smile, maybe a bit of small talk, before they both turned back to their own business. But as this person turned to glance at her, Talia couldn’t help but freeze in place. “Oh, uh, hey Mina. I didn't know, uh, you were in here too.”

As much as Louisa loved the kids, she was always grateful to have some days free of classes since it gave her the chance to recuperate and catch up on things she needed to do. Today, she decided it was best to get her errands over and done with before she let herself put them off yet again. 

Stepping out of the store, Louisa hummed to herself as she took in the cold winter air. She began to go over her mental checklist of errands when someone a distance down the sidewalk caught her eye. They seemed to be juggling a few boxes in their arms  — definitely too much for one person. Quickening her pace to catch up with the person, Louisa was delighted to recognize the face as she neared. “Whoa! Charlie, hon, let me help you with that. That can’t be good for your back!”

[ Outside a train station || 13:22pm ]

With her grandmother manning the storefront for the afternoon, Lucia was out on the town, or more specifically, on the parking lot. She’d arrived a prompt twenty minutes early, and remained in patient waiting, arms folded over the steering wheel of her father’s van and her chin rested atop. Each train that rattled past caused her head to pop up, but as the small crowds of arriving passengers came and went, she reminded herself that she knew when the right train was due.

When that train finally came, she launched into action. She unbuckled the seatbelt over her passenger seat, which had been keeping a colourful bouquet of gerbera daisies in place (only responsible passengers were allowed) throughout her journey. Once they were tucked under her arm, the cardboard sign beneath them followed, and she carefully worked the door open without either being crushed in the process. That was a major win.

She brandished the sign with a big, cheesy grin, ignoring the slightly confused stares from the passers-by who didn’t understand what ‘LAST STOP: CAMDEN TOWN!’ meant. That was fine, it wasn’t for them. “Finally…” Lucia said, once she finally spotted a familiar face. “I was starting to worry you missed your train!”

{ @jinqius​ }

As the clicks of the train’s wheels gradually slowed, Camden started to gather up his belongings. It wasn’t like he was in any big rush but after a few hours on the train, he was beginning to feel a bit antsy. Dragging his luggage behind him, he maneuvered down the narrow aisle to the doors. Huntsville. He didn’t really know much about the place besides the fact it was a smaller town. Maybe coming to a place like this seemed like an odd choice, let alone relocating countries to Canada, but Cam knew he needed the change of scenery. Besides, he was here by recommendation of an old friend, and that definitely had to count for something.

Stepping off the train and onto the platform, Cam started scanning his surroundings for said friend. He moved with the crowd to the station’s exit and with most of the passengers dispersing at the parking lot, it didn’t take long for Cam to spot who he was looking for. Standing next to a van, Lucia appeared to be holding a bouquet — unsurprising to him by now — along with ... a sign of some sort? Cam squinted, registering the words as he neared and let out a scoff at the inside joke he hadn’t heard for some time.

“Tsk, not even a minute here and you’re already trying to embarrass me,” he said to the woman, the amused smile creeping onto his face betraying his stern tone. “Miss my train? Never. You know you can’t get rid of me that easily. Now, are those flowers for me or are you waiting for another good friend to arrive in this town of yours?”