save the trees.

MELANIE ‘MEL’ CARTER has been accepted to participate ! they are a 27 year old all the way from SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA . THEY are currently studying ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE at the interchange !

hi everyone, it’s di again - super excited to bring in a second character, mel! i go by she/her pronouns and i’m in pst. more info on mel below the cut. give this a little like if you want to plot and i’ll DM you! ♡ 

🌳  to plot / 🌿  for a short starter ( full bio ) ( pinterest ) ( open starters ) ( connections )

instagram post template by @allscalliepsds​

           ❝  naaah.  consider  this  like  your  consultation  and  those  are  always  free.  ❞  once  on  the  street,  he  laughs,  nudging  her  gently  with  his  elbow,  ❝  fastest  friend  i  ever  made,  too.  ❞  a  strange  realization  considering  he  often  made  it  a  point  to  befriend  anyone  who  came  in  contact.  mel  seemed  to  make  it  easy,  though,  and  it’s  something  he  appreciates;  especially  stepping  so  far  outside  of  his  comfort  zone.  jevaun’s  eyes  widen  slightly  at  the  mention  of  the  holiday,  ❝  oh.  right.  i  forgot  that  was  comin’  up.  ❞  brushing  it  off,  ❝  i  think  it’s  nice  that  you’re  not  skimpin’  on  what  to  get  her,  but  i’m  sure  you’ll  find  just  the  right  thing  in  no  time.  ❞  he  chuckles  softly,  ❝  makes  my  desire  to  find  a  simple  keychain  seem  kinda  bad,  don’t  it?  ❞

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“are they? good to know.” mel was a huge proponent of therapy for most people, never herself though. maybe that wasn’t the best but she repeatedly convinced themselves they didn’t need it. she was completely well-adjusted and protesting climate change and racism was all she needed to get her feelings out ( whether that was true or not had yet to be seen ). giving him a smile as though to say nice, mel nudged him back with their shoulder, pulling their phone out of their pocket to make sure they were going the right way. getting lost was not on the itinerary. “everyone always forgets.” mel said with a laugh, she’d had to text her younger sisters to remind them. “nah, i think a keychain is easy. something small and not fragile? actually might be the way to go.” she wasn’t entirely sure how much it would cost to ship something back to seattle but she had to imagine it wouldn’t be cheap. “feels like something to collect from all the places we go without taking up too much room.”

open starter @interchangehq​ (0/5)

“so anyways, i was thinking–” ramona paused, their eyes latched to their phone. before her eyes, her itinerary of planned things to do had disappeared. a small frown placed itself on their face. “where did it go? i had a whole plan of things to do and see and it just vanished from my phone. i must have pressed something. well, i guess i can just start over. any ideas?”

.

mel cocked their head to the side, curious as to what ramona had to show them when a frown appeared. “what? are you serious?” as someone who lived off of itineraries and organization, the idea of one of their lists disappearing into thin air quite literally gave them heart palpitations. “you’re actually in luck, i made a couple versions myself depending on weather and how physically active i felt like being that day...i could send them to you, if you want?”

           shaking  his  watch  adorned  wrist,  he  volleys  the  joke  with  a  grin,  ❝  already  one  step  ahead  of  you.  ❞  the  male  offers  a  lopsided  shrug  about  his  name.  maybe  if  he  had  more  of  a  connection  with  the  woman  who  gave  it  to  him,  he’d  care  more  about  how  he  was  addressed,  but  jevaun  often  found  himself  looking  for  a  way  to  detach.  ❝  i  think  nicknames  are  better,  especially  among  friends,  so  think  of  it  as  my  way  of  hoping  for  the  best,  ❞  a  playful  wink  before  he  stands  and  motions  for  them  to  lead  the  way,  hands  soon  making  a  home  within  his  pockets,  ❝  we  lookin’  for  anything  in  particular  or  is  our  mission  solely  to  explore?  wanna  make  sure  i  keep  my  eyes  peeled  for  you  if  it’s  the  former.  ❞

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“wowww,” she said with a smirk, laughing as she shook her head. “should’ve known. are you charging me for this conversation as well?” mel teased, falling into step with him as they walked the short distance to the door and out onto the street. “fastest friend i’ve ever made.” it felt like a record and, shockingly enough, she did actually think they could be friends. at least so far it seemed promising. “nah, nothing in particular. i’m mostly curious to see what’s there. i do need to get my mom something for mother’s day but it’s going to be late no matter what so i’m not in a rush. i’d rather find something perfect than grab the first thing i see.”

"true."

"uh...true."

"true."

"false."

he ponders      on how he      answered that question,        he shouldn’t have       been so        open      with someone       he just      had met.      ❝ no,         I’m sorry.      that was      cheeky of me,       wasn’t it ? ❞       he knew that        people knew      of his father      but      the day      of his untimely         death was        much more complicated          than what had        been told to        the media. ❝        I just think        it’s beautiful        what you can            capture on camera . ❞        he adds on        with a         small smile        ❝      for example        look at this       —— or even you. ❞        the last part       was somewhat         bold ❝       I mean that      with the       up-most respect. ❞ 

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“cheeky is a word for it.” not one mel would have chosen but that was mainly because it wasn’t a word she used back in seattle or ever really heard in conversation before meeting a shit ton of people from london once she joined the program. nodding, she took a few more moments to appreciate the eggs florentine, it did look delicious though she had to wonder what the difference between a florentine and an eggs benedict was. they looked extremely similar. “well, thanks with the up-most respect.” mel replied with a smile, sliding one of the plates towards themself. “i’ve never really enjoyed pictures of myself but i did hear recently something about sunsets. you know how people always say a picture doesn’t do it justice? it’s the same for people. even if you look good in pictures, you look even better in real life.” mel wasn’t sure why she liked that idea so much.  

“true.”

he looks      towards her      &.      the answer      leaves his     lips before       he has a      chance to      stop it      ❝ no ,     a thief did .    ❞      or that’s        what the      newspaper read ;       DEREK HARRISON       KILLED       IN HIS PENTHOUSE       BY A         PETTY THIEF.     the real reason       was for more sinister       than that.      he doesn’t add       anything to       his answer      but simply      turned around        grabbing two plates,       placing the eggs        florentine on      the plates .      ❝ funny girl. ❞       he adds on      with a      small smile,       though it’s      not as      bright as     it was     before.      ❝ nice to        meet you      mel      , i’m      di’angelo       &       .yes       just joined       the program,      I always liked       photography.       never really       did it,        I had other       responsibilities       at the        moment . ❞ 

.

the last thing mel was expecting was that kind of response. there were some who she would have assumed were kidding, saying something like that just to make them feel bad but she could tell that wasn’t the case here. even if she had her doubts, the way the atmosphere in the kitchen changed made it clear, beyond a doubt, that he wasn’t making anything up for shock effect. “i’m...sorry.” there wasn’t much more to say about it. she hardly knew anything about him but now she knew this - it felt intrusive. how were you supposed to move the conversation on from that? waiting until the eggs were on the plate, mel slide a few slices of avocado onto the edge of the knife, placing them delicately on each plate. “so, you’re here for photography? i’ve ever had an eye for it myself.” she could appreciate the art though.

gripping their arm with wide eyes, “ you heard it too ? when i went to check it out there wasn’t anyone there. do you think they sent us to another haunted hotel ? ” she’d managed to avoid most of the chaos last time and she was hoping to keep that streak alive. “ i’m not prepared to be haunted mel. ”

.

mel hadn’t been expecting saiyr to have heard it too, hoping the other would have denied it and she could put it down to a dream but, of course, that wasn’t what happened. “no way...i thought we moved past that after london.” mel had head more stories than she wanted to admit after staying there ( even their own that they weren’t prepared to admit to easily ). mel didn’t necessarily subscribe to the belief that ghosts were real but sometimes it was hard to logic it away. “you aren’t going be haunted, come on. don’t ghosts normally go for people who have important things going on?” she teased, giving the other a look.

waltzing into the common area, mel made a b-line towards saiyr, a confused look on their face. “did you hear someone singing in the hallway last night? i could have sworn i did but now i think i might have been dreaming.” though it had seemed so real in the early hours of the morning before the sun had risen.

he scrunches      up his nose       in disgust      ❝ nah,      I came in       this morning after        my run      &.      saw that there,       whoever planned       on drinking       that seriously         doesn’t care      about their       well being . ❞       a      small smile       rests on         his features        ❝ hey   hey,       I was       just asking        , I have had        people who don’t       know how to        peel a damn apple      ,       nowadays      you have        to ask. ❞       he says          as he grabs        the red         pepper flakes         from the cabinet,        sprinkling just       a few dashes        on the eggs.  ❝  yeah,       I think       two is         enough,       if anything     just do      one       &.       then whoever        wants some       can       cut       the rest . ❞       for now,        it had only      been the     both of       them,       so      why      waste food. 

.

their eyebrows rose, giving him an amused yet intrigued look. “someone’s judge-y. did caffeine kill your family?” mel could understand not liking something but the way he was reacting to coffee made her think he was a pretty judgmental person on the edge of being pretentious about it. she could be that way, without a doubt, but more so about caring about the climate crisis and dismantling the patriarchy instead of what people drank. “fair enough but if the person who can’t peel an apple is here, you have to tell me. don’t want to trust the wrong people.” she teased, getting to work on cutting one ripe avocado in half, taking the pit out before slicing the soft fruit into sections. “i’m mel, by the way.” she said, realizing while slicing that she didn’t actually know this guy at all. what a way to meet someone. “did you just join the program? if you say no, i will feel awful.”

as soon as she said the other was leaving he pulled away like he’d spontaneously combust if he dared linger a moment longer. “ she’s upset. ” he huffed arms crossed, “ i was just walking to get a coffee and she started talking to me about her and her friends throwin’ this party now normally i’m all for a girl inviting me to hang out with her friends but she was making it sound like i was going to be her little toy for show and tell. ” hands on his hips as he peeked over their shoulder making sure that she’d actually left before turning their attention back to mel. “ thanks, i owe you one, since you’ve saved me from getting stuffed and put in her creepy collection and all. ”

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mel listened to his story, unable to help some amusement from rising within her. “how do you get yourself into these situations, grey?” she asked, knowing it really wasn’t his fault but it was still entertaining. his life was a whirlwind to mel. she knew deep down, if they hadn’t met years ago as kids, they would have had nothing at all to talk about. “you certainly do, i don’t need people seeing you pretending we’re dating and running off to spread rumors.” returning their attention to the menu, she weighted her options. “i’m going to the nile today, you get to come with me.”

             he  bows  his  head,  motioning  as  if  tipping  a  hat,  ❝  much  obliged.  ❞  their  comment  earns  a  laugh  before  he’s  waving  it  off,  ❝  nah,  you’re  safe.  i  usually  save  the  psychoanalyzing  for  people  i’ve  known  at  least  an  hour.  ❞  not  that  he  ever  tried  to  do  it  in  the  first  place,  but  it  wasn’t  something  he’d  fully  learned  to  turn  off  ——  he  usually  kept  his  observations  to  himself,  though.  he’s  immediately  nodding  at  the  invitation,  ❝  jevaun,  but  you  can  call  me  jv  if  it’s  easier,  ❞  he  didn’t  have  a  preference,  ❝  and  you  had  me  at  food!  i’d  be  happy  to  tag  along.  ❞  that  and  nobody  should  be  venturing  new  places  alone.

.

“an hour? better start a timer.” mel joked. she had to imagine being a psych major meant analyzing everyone even if you didn’t mean to. she felt that way when it came to the environment and urban planning. it happened naturally, without even trying. “jv, got it. nice of you to give people options.” mel commented. she’d long since given up on telling people their full name was melanie, mel felt better. rising from the chair they’d flopped into, she smiled warmly at him. “alright, my kind of guy. let’s get going, we don’t wanna miss the good stuff at the bazaar.” though, mel wasn’t entirely sure what the good stuff was, probably everything.

procrastination was something he thrived at, putting things off till the last possible moment, which included a handful of projects he had yet to do - the main reason for his wandering around with his camera strapped around his neck. cairo was beautiful, architecture included, that he had going for him. in classic silas fashion, a smirk took residence on his features when hazel hues fell on them, forearms leaning against their workspace. “ in your dreams, maybe. “ 

.

"you wish.” she replied, quite childishly but it felt right in the moment. dark eyes fell to the camera around his neck, reaching out to gently gently tap it with her pen. “i assume you aren’t wandering around taking pictures of people studying...so where are you going?” though mel had plenty to finish up, silas appearing with a camera and, what she assumed were plans to explore, felt like a sign from a higher power to give up on studies and cross more things off their list.