hellooo!! you will not believe the way i screamed when i saw this cute little group in the tags! i am incredibly excited to be here and to meet all of you & your beautiful muses━so let’s get things rolling! i’m dawn ( 21+, she/they ) & i’m presenting to you, my soft stressed girl, byun sujeong. ( the isabelle skeleton! ) here are her pages: about, biography, plots, & a sparknotes edition of her will be under the cut! ( which will have most of what you’ll need to know about her. ) drop a like & i’ll come bother you in your messages for some plotting. i do have a discord, so if you prefer that, just lmk! ( i honestly do waaaay better on there so i’d love to shift things over! ) 💘
BACKGROUND.
sujeong was born & raised on eastbell islands!
( tw: death ) her mother unfortunately passed away from childbirth complications :( so now it’s just her & her father. ( and digby if that’s ever added as a skeleton! )
after that incident, people on the islands labelled her as a cursed child, but her father always made sure she knew that he thought of her as a gift.
which helped a lot! instead of paying heed to the rumors, she grew up happily & bloomed into a well-mannered girl w/ her father’s love, so with time the people on the island come to love her for who she is, instead!
that really forms the basis of sujeong’s life trajectory, b/c she starts learning that she feels happiest when the people around her are happy & like her, so she unconsciously begins to live her life for others.
she would have been that kid who always volunteers to help the teachers carry their books to the office, holds the hands of old grannies as they cross the road, helps tend to their roadside stores when they need a break....she might even do your homework for you!
of course, that also means she’s gotten used to piling up the stress all on herself & driving herself too hard; she likes making sure that everything is perfect, perfect, perfect!
after graduating from high school she decides to not leave the island for college b/c she doesn’t know what she wants to do, she only knows she doesn’t want to leave her dad, & she doesn’t like change ( and ngl she probably didn’t even do well enough to get into much colleges anyway ).
so! her dad━who picks up odd jobs to support the family & was working as a janitor at the mayors’ office at that time━pulled some ~~strings~~ and landed her an interview for an entry-level internship position as the mayor’s secretary!
which is a job that she did, eventually, land and it’s really just become her whole life ever since.
now, sujeong just spends almost all of her time either running around for the mayor or working on their secret project. ( which is the town’s online blog! )
fun fact: she has a little notebook she brings around w/ her all the time, and in there she takes notes of everyone on the islands!
deep down, it’s b/c she thinks this is the only way she’ll fit in on the islands & get people to like her ( and not think of her as a cursed child again ), but she’d never admit this to anyone!!
PERSONALITY.
sujeong is most likely known around town as the soft girl-next-door to everyone, which she usually is???? i like to think of her as a supporting role b/c she’s just the type of person that is always in the background instead of being in the spotlight.
but she actually also has a tendency to lash out when she gets too stressed! so she’s prone to mood-swings & it likely makes her come across as v. emotionally unstable at times....
though she is non-confrontational, as her skeleton says, so she most likely tends to bottle up everything. but, that also means you should 100% watch out when it all overflows & she bursts out into one of her episodes! ( i imagine her to be the type that pushes everyone away & needs to take time off to feel like herself again. )
and if it’s not already obvious by now, her people-pleasing tendencies stem from an inferiority complex. :(
which probably manifests in other ways as well! it’s likely v. obvious to people that she’s got a lack of self-confidence ( b/c she tends to shy away from being in the spotlight ), and her inferiority complex shows itself even in her perfectionism as well. ( she can’t stand not having everything in order b/c she feels like any small thing that goes wrong can ruin everything & she thinks it’s very possible for her to ruin things?? )
but, as much as she sometimes crumbles under the stress & lashes out, when there’s a need for her to step up to the occasion, she definitely gets the job done perfectly. ( even if she might get overwhelmed and have a tiny meltdown afterwards! )
i’m really looking forward to having this girl grow a pair & loosen up, and i’m ngl.....she’s a long way from that & needs plenty of character development before she gets to there. :(
and this is also a fairly new muse of mine, so i’m still trying to get the hang of her ahdsjfnejsn, but i’m down for anything & everything, so give me all of it━the fun, the angsty, the dramatic! i can’t wait to explore this girl alongside all your amazing muses. ♡
the past two weeks had been filled with more chaos than he was comfortable with, but he’d pulled through with the hope that if he finished settling into the new house, it would be an auspicious start to the new year. yet he hadn’t even finished unpacking his single suitcase nor finished counting everything broken in that house, and he’d forgotten about the family tradition.
he cleared his throat before approaching the least threatening-looking person near the snack tables and tapping their shoulder. “excuse me, but would you happen to know if there’s any fruit around here, like grapes? or, honestly, i could take grape juice too! my standards are really low right now.” rain tried to sound as polite as he could with less than a few hours until midnight and a whole list of items left to find. he’d only managed to find one so far – a coin of questionable cleanliness that he found under a table – but the grapes would technically double his findings in ten minutes.
he wasn’t superstitious, he just believed that if he broke a tradition he had honored all of his life, then next year would be the worst year ever.
if there’s anyone that might just be the biggest worrywart on the twin islands, it would be byun sujeong. that is to say, she knows exactly what worry looks like━if anything, she’s far too well-acquainted with it. so when an unfamiliar face approaches her ( a new person on the island she hasn’t yet met? unacceptable! first on her list of new years’ resolution: get to know him better! ) with what seems like the oddest concern to have at this time, she recognizes the consternation painted all over his features and the distress seeping through his tone immediately. and even if she doesn’t quite understand his problem as of now━why would anyone be looking for fruits, and grapes in particular, at a countdown party?━she feels an inclination to lend him a helping hand, in whatever way she can.
“um━i don’t think there are any grapes here... the fruit platters only have watermelons, strawberries and apples.” fingers drumming against the table she’s leaned against, sujeong’s heart sinks at the dismay that soon becomes visible on the other’s countenance, and her mind starts running through the possible ways to search for grapes. “but don’t fret just yet! we are at eastbell! i’m sure if we just look around, we’ll find some grapes somewhere.” offering him a reassuring smile, sujeong takes one last bite out of the herbed cheese balls she was munching on before setting her plate down on the table, a determined look settling on her expression.
“let’s start from the back of the town hall! i know they’ve got some funny little plants growing there.” granted, she has no idea whether grapes actually grow on plants, growing up on the island has clearly not done her too well in terms of such knowledge, but it’s worth a shot at least.
✉︎ text for @byunjeongs // pleeeease tell me that ur going to the NY party??
✉︎ text for sweet su♡ // idk if u remember but i’m going with that guy but i’m sure he has friends that he’ll be talking to and i’d love to see ur cute face for at least a MINUTE
✉︎ text for sweet su♡ // plus it’s an excuse to go dress shopping— my treat! you can consider it a late xmas gift
As wordy as ever, Hailey sent the text to one of her newest (and dearest) of friends she’d met since moving to Starden. While she was used to attending parties alongside another, following them around for the night as she greeted unfamiliar faces, the scenario seemed to hit too close to home for the young heiress. For just one night, she thought that maybe she could have some fun with those she’d come to know, even if it were only for a short while. Besides, who didn’t like getting dolled up and taking pictures with friends?
On another note, she was still settling into her new residence on island and could use a good break. To Hailey, spending time with Sujeong was one of her most refreshing past times. Despite their different lifestyles prior to meeting one another, she was sweet— like a puppy, almost. Hailey just wanted to shower her with compliments because, well, it’s just what Sujeong deserved.
a typical weekend for sujeong goes a little like this━she gets out of bed at six in the morning ( a remnant of her weekday routine, because she firmly believes in the power of forming good habits ), freshens up, and takes the first ferry out of eastbell so she can get a good seat at the roost ( always the same corner table, where there’s least disturbance from the steady stream of customers ), where she’ll sit at for the rest of the day, planning for the mayor’s next week. and today, she goes through the same old predictable steps.
sujeong is halfway through her work when she hears a few familiar dings from her phone, and a quick glimpse at the notifications that proceed to pop up on her screen has a strange feeling brewing in the depths of her heart━she doesn’t yet know if it’s harmless wistfulness and maybe even a tinge of regret mixed into it, or the more insidious miscellany of bitterness and jealousy. but whatever it is, her gut twists.
that guy. the nonchalance in it gnaws away at her, the same way it did when hailey first showed her a picture of him, and introduced him as her new beau. but sujeong forces herself to swallow it all down━again. hailey’s grown to be someone so dear to her, despite them having only met not too long ago, and the last thing she would want is for something so small━her inconsequential feelings━to change anything about their friendship.
⟨ 💌 OUTGOING ┊ hailey 🌹 ⟩
‧ ‧ ‧ ➤ of course i’m going!!!! i wouldn’t miss the countdown
‧ ‧ ‧ ➤ not so sure about the afterparty though 🤔
‧ ‧ ‧ ➤ speaking of dress shopping.....i hear the latest collection at graciegrace is beautiful~
‧ ‧ ‧ ➤ and i’m not about to say no to a late xmas gift from my fav shopaholic! 😉
‧ ‧ ‧ ➤ i’m at the roost now, so i can meet you there in fifteen!
she would usually lean more towards clothes from the able siblings’ clothing shop, but sujeong knows that nothing excites hailey more than checking out new collections at graciegrace. and if she were being honest, she could do with a bit of retail therapy right now, too ( even if, as always, she’s going to just do more window shopping than actual shopping. ) arriving at graciegrace in precisely fifteen minutes, sujeong already spots hailey from afar, her sophisticated style ever so eye-catching against the rustic backdrop of the islands. she makes her way over to the other in hastened long strides, rosy tiers already tugged into a broad grin. “hailey! were you waiting for long? i hope not━i came as soon as i could!”
sourscissors: maybe you should watch your back if someone is willing to write that about you in some club’s bathroom
sourscissors: sounds like someone might have a personal vendetta against you …
sourscissors: honestly, i’m always up for movie recommendations so keep em coming, im all ears
byunvely97: maybe they just scribbled random numbers?? that’s what people do, right??
byunvely97: and luck just wasn’t on my side 😕😕
byunvely97: it really depends on what genre you’re into!!
byunvely97: but my all time favorites are (500) days of summer
byunvely97: and eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!!! i can never decide 🤔
byunvely97: what are /your/ all time favorite movies????
coming to the new year countdown event would be the perfect way to unwind and take time off thinking about work...or so sujeong had been told━and, to be fair, she’s sure it could have been, if not for the weight of a ticking time-bomb hanging heavy on her shoulders. sujeong’s never liked keeping secrets, she’s never been good at it, so maybe she should have known that she would one day let the cat out of the bag. but it’s been almost a year since she’s started the town blog, her identity has been successfully kept anonymous since then, and she was finally starting to have a little trust in herself that maybe she could keep this one secret after all. maybe it’s complacency that’s caused her to slip, then.
but whatever it is, sujeong now has to pay the price of keeping a secret; she’s stuck with the repercussions of having her identity figured out by someone━there’s now a constant disturbance that’s started making waves in her life, and tonight it manifests in the form of relentless texts from hwang seonmi. with the countdown having come to an end just minutes ago, sujeong decides it’s time seek seonmi out in the crowd, just in case her threats of getting drunk and spilling the beans really do come true.
turns out it’s actually harder to miss seonmi than to find her, even in this horde of party-goers. she’s a brilliant, scintillating shaft of light in the velvet darkness of the night, and her presence is just as radiant as her dress is. it doesn’t take sujeong long to spot her, and she immediately starts pushing her way through the swarm of people standing between them. “hey, are you drunk?” she immediately asks, pulling seonmi aside to a quieter corner. the next question follows in a hushed whisper, as sujeong’s anxious gaze darts all around their surroundings. “have you said anything you shouldn’t have?”
byul › I MISS YOU !!!!! .. was that loud enough?
byul › no? it’s impossible to love me the most bc ilyOU the most wym
byul › but why did they leave you there alone, that’s not v fair 😠
byul › should i beat them up for you? (๑و•̀_•́)و
byul › entertain you i shall! see you soon 💋
byul › would you like me to bring you anything .. like a snack or something??
수정: hmm....could do better, i think 🤔
수정: guess you’ll just have to tell me again when you come over!!
수정: i volunteered to stay!! i just wanted to finish all this paperwork
수정: there’s nothing else for me to do if i go home anyway, hehe
수정: what are you going to do? hit them with your weak punches???? 🤭
수정: a cup of coffee would be amazing!!!! and if you’re passing by my house, could you get my dress for later too?
수정: it’s on my bed, and my dad will be home to let you in! thank you ily 😘 can’t wait to see my star!!!! 💋
byul › i did say i missed you, silly .. didn’t you hear it?
byul › i am looking forward to seeing you, tho!
byul › i love you lots (´▽`ʃƪ)♡
byul › aw, that’s no fun :((
byul › do you need some help? i can be there in a jiffy!
수정: i didn’t hear it ☹️ say it louder!
수정: have i told you that ily the most today yet??? no?
수정: b/c i really do! ily the most most most! 💕
수정: and you know i would love to have you here any time!!!!
수정: it’s only me in the office now, everyone’s gone because it’s a half-day
수정: so please come 🥺
수정: i’m just writing up boring emails, but you can come help entertain me! 🥺
byul › guess who’s bored
byul › .. me
byul › i’m bored
byul › give me attention ＼| ￣ヘ￣|／
수정: just say you miss me...hehe
수정: b/c i miss you too!! but we’ll see each other in a bit!!!!
수정: speaking of which i might be late for the countdown ☹️
수정: work is really piling up and idk if i can finish in time 😔😔
byunvely97: omg yes it’s me
byunvely97: wait no i mean it’s not me!!!!
byunvely97: I MEAN this is me but it’s not me who wrote that 😲
byunvely97: i’m sorry if you were looking for a good time....
byunvely97: unless if, by a good time, you mean you want movie recs!
byunvely97: in which case i have a lot! 😄
“No matter where she stood, she was in the center of the room. Do not misunderstand. She was not loud, or vain. We stare at a fire because it flickers, because it glows. The light is what catches our eyes, but what makes a man lean close to a fire is the warmth you feel when you come near. The same was true of Denna.”
— - Kvothe, The Name of the Wind (via worldsonlylivingheartdonor)
“We have not touched the stars, nor are we forgiven, which brings us back to the hero’s shoulders and the gentleness that comes, not from the absence of violence, but despite the abundance of it.”
— Richard Siken, Snow and Dirty Rain. (via 21jumpstreet-jax)
