* 𝑇𝑅𝑌 𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘿 !!

                 blaire  is  almost  fond,  it’s  like  watching  bambi  try  and  walk  for  the  first  time.  she  wonders  how  this  chick  handles  all  the  missing  people  and  bodies  that  turn  up,  when  a  little  harmless  shoplifting  made  her  look  like  she  was  about  to  pass  out.  blaire  shrugs,  taking  a  hand  from  her  pocket  to  inspect  a  glitzy  jeweled  necklace  on  a  stand  in  front  of  them.                   ❝     you  think  this  shit  is  worth  50  bucks     ?     it’s  not  even  real  diamonds.  it’s  probably  just  cut  glass  and  craft  glue.  and  who  gives  a  fuck  if  she’s  nice    ?    i  doubt  she’s  donating  any  of  her  profits  to  charity  or  to  the  families  of  those  people  who  have  gone  missing.  funerals  cost  a  fuck  load,  you  know.    ❞ 

        its not like hes the most observant guy in a room on a good day. but with all the distractions around thoughts of people dying, wondering when he’ll be next, those god forsaken woods he barely even notices before he all but crashes into her. whoops. “ah, shit. sorry.” he blurts out, throwing his hands up. its kind of funny how quick she is to apologize. grin cocks at her, hands raising up. “i dont think you broke any bones. maybe fractured my ego a little. here i am trying to convince myself i dont need ta’ wear my contacts, and now this.” his hands lower once more, returning inside his pockets. “you’re fine. and so am i. promise.”

@itlivesstarters​

location: funspot arcade.

even more deaths. she was human – of course, she was upset by these announcements. though instead of crying over it or even talking consistently about what had happened, lucia would work terribly to distract herself. it was a method she used when anything bad or something she didn’t like occurred – she would do anything to avoid confronting her problems. naturally, that took the girl to funspot. her favourite place to go when she needed to move her mind onto something else. wandering around for about a minute or so, she decided to walk up to someone who didn’t look like they were doing much either. “hey. wanna play me at something? i will beat you, but it could still be fun.”

                    forrest  grins  at  her,  towering  over  her  as  she  fumbles  through  her  words.  she  always  talks  like  this,  and  he  thinks  it’s  precious.  (  if  he  was  honest,  she  reminded  him  of  his  little  sister,  and  he  was  just  desperate  for  any  reminder  of  her.  )  he  nods,  shrugging  a  little.                     ❝    i  expect  to  be  knighted  by  the  end  of  the  year.  and,  you  know  me,  just    –    well,  i  did  find  an  awesome  little  trail,  it’s  so  pretty.  we  should  go  hang  there  one  day  and  catch  up.      ❞  

                   ❝    late  classes  are  only  a  couple  of  nights  a  week,  though  i  appreciate  the  concern.    ❞               sorella  nods  her  assurance  and  leads  penelope  towards  her  parked  car  tucked  safely  under  a  street  light.  there  weren’t  many  in  the  town,  but  sorella  always  made  sure  to  stay  in  the  brighter  areas.  she’s   not   superstitious  or  anything,  she’s  just  realistic      –      dark  corners  and  alleyways  tended  to  be  dangerous.  she  slides  into  the  drivers  seat  and  fastens  her  seatbelt,  waiting  until  penelope  is  secured  in  her  own  seat.                    ❝     how  are  you     ?      ❞  

                  blaire  notices  the  girl  is  flushed,  anxiously  looking  over  blaire’s  shoulder  to  the  doorway  that  the  attendant  disappeared  through       –      and  blaire  rolls  her  eyes  and  slips  her  hands  into  her  jacket  pockets  as  she  watches  her.  she’s  familiar,  definitely,  blaire  thinks  she’s  the  mayor’s  daughter,  penelope  or  something.                   ❝     uh,  duh    ??     ❞                    she  shrugs.                 ❝    if  they’re  ballsy  enough  to  sell  this  overpriced  crap,  frankly  they  deserve  it.     ❞  

penelope feels a  chill   run down her spine at the same time she feels her body temperature spike     --     she can’t be caught speaking to someone who steals   !!     she can only imagine the lecture she’d receive from her mother.   still,   there is something thrilling about it,    interesting even,    that prevents penelope from making a quick getaway.   “well     ...     how do you know it’s overpriced   ??   maybe it’s really expensive to make.    and the lady who runs this place is really nice     ...”

   aria  had  a  great  love  for  being  able  to  train at  the  hospital  ;  it  was  interesting  and  inspiring  watching  everything  happen  in  person  right  before  her  eyes.  her  busy  “work”  day  had  come  to  an  end  which  meant  it  was  time  to  go  home.  the  femme  trailed  behind  one  of  her  good  friends  when  suddenly,  she  stops.  aria  can’t  help  but  frown  and  it’s  only  when  she  realizes  what  the  other  is  looking  at  does  she  understand.  aria’s  brows  are  still  furrowed  as  she  says: “ pen ? ” ———– “ penelope ? ”  she  placed  a  hand  on  the  other’s  shoulder.  aria  lets  out  a  small  chuckle  as  penelope  begins  apologizing. “ you’re good– it’s okay. ”  she  walks  out  the  door  before  turning  to  penelope. “ i’m fine but .. are you ? where did you go just then ? ”

aria looks concerned,    and really,    penelope can hardly blame her.    she’s not one to space out like that,    always moving and working and going towards her next thing so she can be the best version of herself.    she’s not the person who gets caught up in fairytales and conspiracies and emotions    --    or rather,   she shouldn’t be that person.    penelope forces a tight smile and shrugs,    tearing her eyes away from the woods where they’d instinctively began to roam.   “it’s   ...    hard.    with daniel gone.”    she admits,   quietly.    she knows aria will understand the connection to her brother.    “but wishing and wanting won’t bring him back,    right    ??     it’s silly to focus on.”

                     forrest  beams  once  he  notices  who  it  was  that  had  dropped  something  and   he  launches  himself  at  her  to  wrap  her  up  in  a   big  hug   –   it’s  been  at  least  a  couple  days  since  he’s  seen  her  and  he  wondered  where  she’d  disappeared  off  to.  he  lets  her  go  with  a  grin,  slipping  the  paper  into  her  hand,  completely  oblivious  to  her  rosy  cheeks  and  nervous  laughter.                     ❝    i’m  doing  my  duty  to  the  town,  i  mean   –   that  was  probably  some  real  important  political  stuff,  right    ?    ❞  

she’s stunned into a momentary lapse of silent save for the little squeak that leaves her mouth,   allowing herself to be wrapped into his arms and she wonders for a moment of she’s dreaming.   then forrest releases penelope and returns the paper and she wakes up,   clearing her throat,   telling herself to focus.   “oh   ...    oh    !!     oh,    yes.    of course.    important.”    it’s doodles,    probably embarrassing ones with his name all over it.    she’s happy he didn’t look.    “they’re very secret,   so thank you.    i wouldn’t want these getting into the wrong hands.    and     ...    and neither would my mom   !!    um.    but anyways,     what have you been up to    ??”  

amelle stood watching penelope in her daydream for a moment before giggling at her apology. “ as if you need to apologize to me – and hey, don’t call yourself a ditz! if anyone actually had anything to say about you blocking the door they’d be meeting the two of these. ” she jokingly help up her fists, as if she’d be the first to jump into a fight in any case. “ how was your shift? is there zombie virus i should know about going on yet or just another boring day? ”

the joke makes penelope giggle,    the woods and daniel finally leaving her mind in favor of jokes and good experiences with her friend.   she’s thankful for amelle in that way,   that although she’s interested in conspiracy theories,   she won’t hesitate to take penelope’s mind away from the one that surrounds her life.   “well then,    if you fought for me i’d get my mom to bail you out somehow.   you know,   keep the odds even.”    she jokes,   shifting her bag onto her shoulder at the mention of her shift.     “and,   well,   you know.    zombies,    absolutely.    in fact,    the whole town should be infected by sunrise.”

                   sorella  is  always  trying  to  busy  herself,  finding  things  to  do  that  fills  the  void;  no  friends,  no  husband,  no  dating  prospects,  things  can  get  very  lonely  in  a  small town  like  this.  she’s  been  teaching  a  few  evening  classes  in  the  hospital,  usually  for  the  eldery  and  infirm  who  have  no  visitors,  just  reading  to  them  mostly,  keeping  their  minds  active.  she’s  pushing  the  door  open,  thinking  about  how  she  could  fill  the  next  two  hours  before  she  goes  to  bed,  and  doesn’t  notice  the  figure  standing  her  way  until  they’re  bumping  together,  startling  them  both.                       ❝    oh  penelope  honey,  no   !   my  mistake,  i  wasn’t  pay  any  attention  to  where  i  was  going.  no  harm  done.  it’s  late,  though.  i  should  give  you  a  lift  home.    ❞                  she  says  with  a  warm  smile,  reaching  out  to  gently  squeeze  penelope  by  the  arm.  

penelope releases a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding,   and she flashes a smile at sorella upon realizing who it is though her smile’s tentative at best and her stomach feels queasy.   it’s always hard to feel alright when daniel finds his way to her mind,   and that’s more often than not these days.     “oh,     actually,    that would be nice.     i was planning on calling my mom,     but i think she’s busy again     ...”     she trails off,    nodding towards sorella as she shifts her bag onto her shoulder.     “working again     ??     don’t you ever sleep    ??”   

                   blaire  is  busying  herself  at  maybelle’s,  after  having  spent  the  whole  morning  beating  little  kids  at  arcade  games  over  at  the  funspot.  there  was  such  little  stuff  to  do  in  this  town,  but  she  figured  she  could  spend  a  little  time  looking  over  the  bougie  items  that  donned  the  shelves   –   nothing  was  really  to  her  style,  it  was  all  pink  and  lacy,  very  cute  and  girly  and  not  at  all  adorned  with  rips  or  zips  or  buckles.  the  snooty  assistant  was  watching  her  like  a  hawk,  but  at  the  sound  of  a  telephone  she  slipped  away  into  the  backroom,  giving  blaire  a  chance  to  slip  a  pretty  opal  ring  into  her  pocket,  before  making  eye-contact  with  another  patron  who  had  seemingly  witnessed  her  theft.  she  didn’t  look  guilty,  exactly.                      ❝     you  can  keep  a  secret,  yeah   ??     ❞      

@itlivesstarters​

her mother had told her to find a nice outfit for a dinner they’d be going to this weekend,   and penelope had been in maybelle’s for nothing short of two hours trying to find the right outfit.   she knows it can’t be anything too revealing,   that it has to be stylish,   and most importantly that she cannot be too flashy.   she’s busying herself looking through the racks again when she notices a girl sidle up beside her   --    she thinks her name might be blaire,   maybe    --  and notices her slip a ring in her pocket.    penelope involuntarily lets out a little gasp in surprise,   and then blaire’s speaking to her and her face heats up.    “um    --    well,   of course i can.   but     ...    but isn’t that stealing   ??”

                   forrest  loves  spending  time  outside,  deep  in  nature  where  he  can  forget  about  the  ‘real  world’  for  a  few  hours.  he  knows  the  police  are  very  touchy  about  who  can  go  in  and  out  of  the  woods  ( read;  nobody )  but  he  knows  he’s  charming  enough  to  wriggle  out  of  any  trouble  he  might  get  into,  even  if  it’s  against  police  chief  doug  !  the  sun  is  just  setting  when  he  makes  his  way  back  to  his  flat,  mud  dusting  his  features;  nose,  ears,  forehead,  elbows,  knees   –   when  he  spots  somebody  leaving  the  front  doors  and  watches  as  they  drop  something  from  their  pocket.  he  rushes  to  catch  up,  picking  up  the  wayward  piece  of  paper  and  calling  to  the  retreating  form.                  ❝    hey    !!    wait  up,  you  dropped  this   !    ❞       

@itlivesstarters​ 

the very voice catches her attention,    as it’s a voice she’s heard hundreds of times before     --    and then her cheeks and the tips of her ears turn positively pink once she turns to look at forrest.    sure,    he’s covered head to toe in mud and dirt and she’s got a theory as to wear it all came from,    but he’s smiling all wide and toothy at her and her heart skips a beat.    penelope gulps,    taking the paper from him and laughing shakily.    “oh    !!    sorry,   forrest.    thanks for getting it for me    !!   you’re always helping me   ...”

♡    –   a small introduction to penelope choi.

19 years old,  student & volunteer at the general hospital.

penelope has lived in town her entire life with her older brother and mother.

her mother is the mayor and has always had great expectations for penelope,  especially because her brother,  daniel,  has always been somewhat of a delinquent. 

penelope is compliant,  following her mother’s wishes for herself.  secretly,  she wishes she could make her own decisions.

penelope believes that there is something strange going on in town.  her mother denies it,  and so she knows she has to keep this a secret.