* cloudy @celiathomas - Tumblr Blog

zendaya, bisexual, female + she/her ― hey look, it’s celia thomas! she’s twenty-five years old, she’s lived in shrike heights for her entire life, and she’s currently working at duchess jewellers. i heard she’s pretty unstable, but i think she’s so visionary at the same time. can she make it out alive? || s, twenty-four, she/they, gmt+11 + triggers on main.

#intr.#shrikeintro

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. noah

from where he was sitting, on top of a garbage container, he wiggled his legs back and forth. there was a nice breeze coming through the alley and it made him feel at ease. a strange feeling considering his current situation: noah davies sat on top of a garbage container with his own blood dripping down his face. a regular tuesday for them. he didn’t know how or why it started, all he knew was that he didn’t like it when people whispered behind his back if they had something to say they should say it to his face. the outcome would’ve been the same, a fight in the middle of the night in the parking lot of a restaurant, but still, he liked it better when people were upfront.

noah took out a cigarette, after lighting it he used his hand to clean the blood off his cheek. he pressed the palm of his hand to the wound, to get it to stop bleeding, and after a few minutes no more blood seemed to come from it. it was then that he couldn’t help to notice a figure at the end of the alley.

“got a camera?” he calmly asked as he took another drag from his handmade cigarette. “so, you can snapped a photo.” even though it seemed like his wound was done bleeding, a single drop of blood dripped down from his cheek to his neck. he didn’t seem to mind. “it will last you longer, babe.” noah winked at them as he leaned back into the wall.

it was just celia’s luck that her car decided to call it quits today, just after the rest of her co-workers had begun their own journeys home. after kicking and screaming and cursing the engine that - for some reason she couldn’t understand - didn’t work anymore, celia had come to terms with the fact that she would have to make the long walk home in the dark; she wasn’t happy with the fact, the tears rolling down her face making that easy to understand, but with no quarters to spare to call for a lift from a friend on the payphone at the entrance of shrike mall she found it to be her only option.

the walk was more frightening than any walk should have ever been, and while it wasn’t actually a long one, the fear that surrounded her and made her believe there was a threat lurking around every next corner made it feel like it would last her entire lifetime. since falling victim to the ghost at the fundraising event, nothing had felt safe, and nothing had been an enjoyable or a pleasurable experience; she had hardly even been back to work since her attack because of how severe her fear was and how real her trauma was, but running out of funds to support herself was another real threat she was faced with and that was the only reason why she was in this situation now. to say the very least, that fact made everything about this situation so much worse.

it was a stinging pain that reminded her of just how unfair the world was, and in celia’s mind it was a sign that told her things would never get better. it all overwhelmed the girl and it hurt almost just as much as her attack that she almost hadn’t survived had physically. she cried as she walked, running out of breath consistently as she moved at a speed she believed was the safest and the one that would see her home as soon as possible, but the second she turned into the alley where noah could be found, celia froze. there was a lump in her throat; her lungs didn’t move in or out to allow her to breathe; her eyes were wide with fear and the tears that fell now did so silently. for reasons unknown, she was so terribly frightened over running into somebody else on her walk, and things only got worse as she noticed his injury.

though he spoke, she couldn’t quite comprehend what he was saying. she stood in her paralysed state of fear for far too long, a sorry sight that would embarrass her when she came to. it took longer than celia would have cared to admit, but after a moment she was able to once again gasp for a breath of air. she looked over to noah, concern joining her intensely large amount of fear, and though what he had said finally registered in her she stepped forward and didn’t directly respond at all. “what happened? you’re hurt.” she told them, as if they didn’t already know. “who did that to you?” she then asked, looking around them as if she expected a killer to be ready to strike once again.

#th.#celia.#trauma cw

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. soren

located in art murmur. this is a closed starter for @horrorbxby

“oh! sorry.” celia’s cheeks turned darker with embarrassment as she quickly pulled her hand away from the pot of paint she had been reaching for, the last of its colour on the shelf, the one that soren seemed to be going for also. “it’s all yours, sorry, i didn’t notice you were reaching for it too.” she explained, easily giving it up for the other artist. it hadn’t always been in celia’s nature to be selfless, in fact, she had made plenty of selfish mistakes in her lifetime and that happened to be the exact thing that now forced into the state of selflessness needed for her to give up her favourite colour in her favourite brand of paint. “i can just ask if there’s more out back, or just wait for more to come in, it’ll be fine.” she smiled a slightly lopsided smile, but it was as genuine as it was awkward.

#clsd.#th.#soren.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. delilah

It was nice, Delilah thought - everyone should be trying to do a little bit for the people around them, if they could, at least now, when your life could change drastically at any moment.

“Nice to meet you too.” She said. She’d never actually been into Duchess, but she’d looked in from the outside. Fancy jewelry always reminded her of her mother, or her grandmother - of real adults, which she definitely, definitely was not. Still, maybe one day she’d be that kind of person. “That’s cool, I’ve never actually been in there.” She added, not sure why she felt the need to tell Celia that. It wasn’t like she was expecting a sales pitch. “The morning shifts are nice, I think. Quiet, usually.” Quiet, however, might not seem so good these days, though, she thought to herself as soon as the words left her mouth.

“most of the jewellery is pretty expensive,” she started, though she quickly realised her words made it seem like she assumed delilah couldn’t afford to shop at her workplace. that in no way being her intentions, celia quickly explained herself a little better. “so people only really come in for special occasions, or if they’re, like, some elegant heiress that definitely doesn’t belong in shrike heights.” she laughed, softly, only half-heartedly. “it’s really nice, though. i’ve never actually shopped there myself, but i like looking at all the pretty, sparkly things.” she offered a smile as she spoke. “duchess is quiet too. usually all day, though. i don’t know if i’m much of a fan of the pace and the… ambience. i feel like i might have preferred somewhere a little busier, but maybe i’m completely wrong, i don’t know.” she shrugged.

#th.#delilah.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. matty

Celia moving back to town felt, now, a year or so later, just as upsetting to Matty as it had when he’d first found out she was back in town. He wasn’t mad at her, or anything like that, it just… Hurt. He’d spent all this time that she’d been gone trying to move on, trying to figure out what kind of person he was without her, and then she’d reappeared, out of the blue, and he’d been completely blindsided by it. He tried his best to avoid her, but in a small town, it was sometimes just… Unavoidable.

Now was probably avoidable, but it was late, and she looked like she was leaving the mall alone, and with everything going on, he… He didn’t want anything to happen to anyone, let alone her.

“Hey,” He said, moving to walk in step next to her. “You, um.. Okay? Sorry, just.. I saw you alone, and it’s late, and you never know who’s around, especially now, and..” He trailed off, somewhat awkwardly, hoping it wouldn’t seem as weird as it felt. “I could walk you to your car, if you want.”

though she tried to hide it, celia had been struggling greatly with every decision she had had to make in the past few years. she struggled ending her engagement, she struggled moving away to college, she struggled choosing to take the classes she did and she struggled choosing to drop them when things weren’t going as planned. she struggled perhaps the most deciding to finally throw in the towel and drop out completely, and moving back home was so hard that describing it as a struggle didn’t even sound strong enough, it didn’t sound right. but celia had no choice, especially not when she heard that her loved ones were being attacked and that people were being killed in her hometown. so as usual, celia simply struggled through and she made her return.

it was hard, coming back, especially after what she had done to people like matty by leaving. she felt such guilt and shame over the way things had gone, but more than anything else right now - even more than the fear she felt over the attacks and the crimes - celia felt such regret. all of those decisions she made, she now believed were the wrong ones to make, even though they had felt right at the time. there was nothing she could do to change the past, but knowing that didn’t make her feel any better.

she had just been about to put her headphones over her ears to put on a song for her walk to the car, hoping to drown out the feelings that she didn’t wish to address or feel right now, but then the face it hurt the most to see appeared by her side. her heart immediately began to ache, especially as she heard matty speak. his offer was so kind, too kind even. he didn’t owe celia a single thing, and more guilt piled up as he proved himself as so selfless. “hey,” her tone was already apologetic. “yeah, i’m okay.” she nodded her head, unsure of what to say, and saddened by the fact. “you don’t have to, if you don’t want to…” she felt unable to accept his offer as she felt as though she already owed him so much. “it is…” she started, though she hesitated and once again found herself struggling through. “if you’re sure, though, i would appreciate the company. no pressure, but… it is scary out there. i wouldn’t want you to be alone either.” she reasoned.

#th.#matty.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. noah

“No, that makes sense, you have a good point,” Noah said with an understanding nod. He understood the beauty of art. Photographs captured moments that would never exist again, and that was the beauty if it all. “I can definitely understand the importance of allowing art to exist as temporary, to live only in the mind once it’s gone, if that’s what you as the artist desires, you know?” he said with a soft smile.

“I am! I love taking photos. It makes me feel like a collector of… I dunno. Moments? Memories?” he shrugged lightly. “I love taking photos of people most, I think.” he explained. “I work at Snapshot here, but I’m hoping to one day go into freelance photography, doing my own thing, you know? Maybe photojournalism where I can tell stories through photographs, or be featured in like… magazines and stuff,” he said, shrugging lightly. “Although I guess helping people set up their glamor shots and prom photos is good practice.” Even though he didn’t exactly get very difficult subject matter to photograph, Noah still enjoyed his little part-time job.

Noah had no inkling about Celia’s history with art school. All he knew was that he could recognize talent and a love of creating, and he knew an artist when he saw one. “I think you should consider it, at least. You’ve got the stuff for it. Art school’s expensive, though, from what I understand. I’m just going to the community college here, taking a few courses. I wish I could’ve gone to a real photography school back home, but… here I am,” he said with a non-committal shrug. He didn’t completely hate Shrike Heights when he’d first gotten here, but now that things were getting too close for comfort with those serial killers, Noah felt like he couldn’t get out of there fast enough. He knew he couldn’t just leave his grandmother alone, though. He didn’t really like to talk about it, though.

“Duchess, though! I got a necklace from there not long ago. Just a simple gold box chain, but it feels pretty mint,” he mused. It was nicer than the stuff he got at Claire’s, that was for sure.

while this conversation was completely unplanned, it swiftly became extremely important to celia. being able to talk about something she was so passionate about - and with a conversationalist who seemed to absolutely understand from a different yet refreshingly relatable artistic point of view - it was exactly what celia hadn’t realised she needed. it was nice, and nice wasn’t a feeling that she felt very much anymore so even while nice wasn’t amazing, it was more than enough. “yeah, there’s a beauty in… a lack of permanence. perhaps a morbid beauty, but a beauty nonetheless.” she felt safe sharing her views with noah, and much like the nice feeling he elicited, safe was sparse right now and to feel it was special.

“a collector of memories…” she repeated his words, musing on them a little bit with a small curve on her lips that neared a smile. “i like the way you phrase that, i really like that.” she thought about it for a second longer. celia had always been fond of photography, and very much interested in the medium, but she hadn’t heard a photograph described like that before and it ignited a fresh spark for the medium inside of her. “i really admire that, i would love to see some of your work sometime. i mean, you’ve seen some of mine so now it’s only fair.” this time there was no mistaking that there was a soft smile on her face. “do you get much time to do your own thing outside of work? to take pictures for your personal portfolio? i walk past the same stores every single day i’m working and i swear sometimes i see employees each and every time i do, it’s like they never get a break or a day off.”

“how are you liking the college here?” she questioned, not addressing her own relationship with school yet as she wasn’t sure if she was ready to open up about her experience just yet, even if noah did make her feel safe in their conversation. she had considered applying to shrike university, the college feeling much more… obtainable than the college she had completely failed at after putting all of her eggs in one basket up there, but celia was afraid of failing something that had the reputation of being easier in a way, and after making no progress with figuring out what direction her life was going to take career and creativity wise, she wasn’t sure what classes she’d even consider that they offered at the university.

“duchess is one of my favourite stores to be in at the mall, honestly.” she smiled again, though it didn’t have the same spark to it as her smile had when they were talking of art. “the jewellery they sell is just… gorgeous. i don’t even think gorgeous is a strong enough word in describing it, actually. but my favourite part of it is the people. helping people buy gifts for their loved ones, watching the most exquisite women add to their collection, seeing people come in with the savings they’ve squirrelled away for years just so they can finally treat themselves after working so hard for so long.” she paused as she thought about it. “everyone has a story, and i like to think i see a lot of special moments in their stories which makes me feel really honoured working there.”

#th.#noah.

flowerytale

Christa Wolf ― Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays

#insp.

bambieyestuff-deactivated202404

zendaya - avatars (requests open)

#vis.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. nick

Maybe if he had more energy, he’d apologize again and the conversation would go around and around in the same circle like it often did whenever Nick insisted on apologizing for something. Barely having the energy just to be at the mall though, he let it go with a small nod — which was for the best, being able to focus on something like the artwork on the sidewalk would at least give him a short break from all the overwhelming thoughts and feelings he had while being here. “You’re welcome. It’s much better than anything I could’ve done. I think my artistic ability is strictly limited to stick figures.” He added a small joke to attempt to further lessen the heavy atmosphere that hung over him.

Most of the small smiles Nick managed to muster up during the conversation never quite met his eyes and seemed a bit forced. Upon hearing her intentions, however, he was able to manage a genuine smile. After all the attacks and some of the things he’d seen during them, it was comforting to know that there was still some good left in town and that others cared enough to help each other out in whatever small ways they could. It wasn’t that he ever thought Shrike was entirely void of kindness, it was just harder to spot these days while being weighed down by all the horrors that surrounded the once quiet town.

“I think a lot of people will appreciate it.” He took a moment to select his words carefully, not wanting to veer too much into the heavy topic of the crimes around town. After all, engaging in a conversation about it sort of defeated the purpose of the artwork. “Most people are looking for small things to bring a little light to things these days, I think. I’m sure this will bring out at least a few smiles as people come in.” Nick felt like that was all anyone could really ask for as of late as the problems in town continued without an end in sight. “Even if it doesn’t, it’s at least a lot nicer to be greeted with than…something else…” He trailed off, not wanting to rehash all the threatening messages and other horrific scenes that had been left for a few openers sporadically since the mall’s grand opening.

“everyone’s good at different things. everyone has their own set of skills.” celia shrugged, not going to argue against nick when she had no idea what his artistic ability was, but still wanting to be kind and uplifting if she could be - that was exactly why she was creating her art in the first place, anyway. “thank you.” she added for the compliment of sorts, almost forgetting her manners. celia herself had a lot of skills, a lot of talents and things she was good at, but if anyone were to ask her she could never properly own up to them. she had had a very troublesome experience trying to pursue multiple of her many interests and talents until she eventually had to give up on all of them; though not being successful at something on a collegiate level didn’t mean she didn’t have those skills, celia wasn’t able to feel confident in anything she did. regardless of how she felt, however, she was trying to not make a big deal of anything as her own attempt of lessening the tense tone rather than adding to it.

at times celia definitely felt like a real failure; she left shrike heights with big dreams, only to come back not quite completely empty handed as she held all of her crushed spirits and emotional baggage with her as she returned. she didn’t feel very good about herself, those feelings easily heightened due to the heaviness of shrike heights and all of the pain and hurt that was going around, but rare moments like this one helped heal her. it was a strange concept, feeling healed when her actions were so directly associated with the horror in the town, but nick’s smile and his encouragement meant so much to her. she might not have had a degree or any professional experience in the art field, but knowing that she was doing something important - however small it was at the same time - was more satisfying that having a piece of paper with her name on it that was signed by some professor (or whatever degrees looked like, celia didn’t know).

“i figured.” she nodded her head, trying to say as little about the prospect of finding a crime scene as what nick was. “and even if people don’t appreciate it, i thought considering all they could find - should something else be happening out here this morning rather than me being here doing this - something like a little chalk drawing couldn’t hurt.” she still felt and sounded quite awkward while speaking of her own work, even when nick’s encouragement genuinely had brightened her mood and lifted her spirits. celia paused for a moment, overthinking quite a lot about both her own actions and of course the elephant in the room - the attacks and the killers - but as soon as her mind tried to venture down the road of the crimes she began to speak again, desperate to not settle into her dark thoughts and feeling responsible for nick’s state of mind too, not wanting to let his thoughts silently happen down the same path now that he no longer had engagement and distraction. “i haven’t really been able to touch my chalk for a while, given the weather and how icy the sidewalks have been. i’m a little rusty but… i forgot how fun it could be.” she was speaking for the sake of speaking, saying the first things that came to mind.

#th.#nick.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. noah

“Of course you are! I mean, just look at that,” Noah said, smiling at Celia and gesturing at her creation. “It’s a shame the rain will wash it away… or mall maintenance,” he lamented, taking another look at the drawing she’d very clearly spent a little time on creating. It was a true work of art, in his opinion. Street art was just as important, if not more, than the stuff you found hanging in museums, in his opinion.

“What if I take a photo of it? I’m Noah, by the way. I work over at Snapshot, and photography’s kinda my thing,” he nodded. “Unfortunately, I had to open today, and the rent-a-cop here seems to think it’s so funny to leave everyone out here instead of letting us get to our shops for early set-up or something,” he added, wrinkling his nose a little.

Despite his constant annoyance with mall security, Noah didn’t seem very upset. In fact, he was still upbeat, and honestly glad that there was at the very least someone else to talk to that morning. He hated arriving early and having nothing but his own thoughts to keep him company.

“So, are you in art school or something?”

for some reason receiving compliments and noah’s kind words had celia blushing and feeling quite bashful. she wouldn’t call herself shy necessarily, but at this time of the day with such little sleep and so many large emotions - it had her reacting what was perhaps a little out of her ordinary. “but isn’t that the beauty of this kind of art? it’s limited, exclusive, special. not in the way that you have to pay to be able to catch a glimpse, but in a way that’s… you’re lucky that you’re one of the special ones who get to enjoy the art before it goes, and because it’s not permanent it means so much more.” she was more thinking out loud now. “i don’t know if any of that made sense.” she added, almost trying to backpedal a degree, her bashfulness increasing.

“you’re a photographer?” she smiled, impressed despite not seeing a single shot of his yet. photography was a real art form, celia believed, and that made the kind words he spoke to her mean even more. when someone was also an artist - no matter how different the mediums were - kind words always came with more of an understanding and more validity to them. “what kind of things do you like to photograph?” she questioned curiously. photography was something celia was interested in, something she had tried to pursue ever so slightly, something she was interested in pursuing properly one day if she ever found the time. whenever she met someone with experience in something she was interested in it was very likely that she would at some point ask them a million and one questions about it. luckily noah seemed friendly enough to be receptive to that.

the topic of art school was difficult for celia to talk about after she had tried pursuing art in college, only to not complete any degree due to her indecisive nature and conflict of interests. she had been ill equipped when she arrived at college and overwhelmed instantly when trying to chase her dreams that were much too vast and wildly out of control; she learnt she needed to reign them in order to try to figure out where her passions and skills would take her life and after she only failed that time and time again it had sent her back to shrike heights. it was an uncomfortable topic to think about, though that was no fault of noah’s. “no, i’m just working at duchess right now. not studying or training or anything, just doing this kind of stuff in my spare time.”

#th.#noah.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. delilah

Delilah’s method of shoving everything to the back of her mind probably wasn’t the best coping mechanism - it was good to confront the things you were afraid of. However, she had no interest in confronting any of the killers or, to get down to the long and short of it, death. Unlike Celia, it wasn’t difficult for her to pretend that there were no killers at all (except for when the reality was shoved into her face, but at the moment, she simply refused to let it).

“I think that’s really nice.” She said, smiling. Frankly, this situation was almost beginning to feel awkward, so she stuck out her hand. “I’m Delilah, by the way. Really, sorry again for startling you, I just work at the bakery, so I have to get here early and all that.” She wasn’t sure if talking more would help the situation, but it was really the only thing she could think of. “Do you work at the mall too?”

celia mirrored delilah’s smile. it felt nice to be complimented, even though she hadn’t originally planned on anyone seeing her artwork until she was far away from it and not around to take the credit. “thanks, i, i try.” she shrugged her shoulders with indifference. she didn’t feel right about taking praise as if she had done something revolutionary, but she also didn’t want to leave delilah’s words unacknowledged, nor did she want to act like kindness wasn’t important. “it’s just the right thing to do, right? when you can do something for other people.” another shrug followed.

“no, it’s okay, really.” she shook her head, reaching out to then shake delilah’s hand. “i’m celia. it’s nice to meet you, i think i’ve seen you around a bit but it’s nice to talk.” in a small town it was rare to have not seen someone around town unless they had just arrived that very day. still, celia appreciated the introduction as she hadn’t even known delilah’s name until now. “i can imagine you would have to get here early. the bakery always has the tastiest things - it’s good there, it’s cool that you’re working there.” she rambled on slightly. “yeah, i’m working at duchess. i’m working the opening shift this morning, but still, i got here way earlier than needed.” she chuckled.

#th.#delilah.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. nick

Arriving much earlier than needed was easier, or at least that’s what Nick told himself. It wasn’t really though. It didn’t actually help him avoid whoever else was working an opening shift. He still had to wait around for the building to be unlocked before he could bolt to Tracks to either freeze in front of the new door while the night of the last attack replayed in his mind or to unlock it as quickly as possible so he could dart to the back of the record store to calm his nerves out of sight of the rest of the employees on the third floor. Furthermore, spending more time here, especially when it was near empty, certainly wasn’t going to help ease the anxiety the mall, once more, filled him with.

Somewhere deep down he knew all this already, just like he knew he was pushing himself a little too hard by trying to return to work like nothing had happened to him. But almost predictably so, he ignored it. Of course he did, because in classic Nick fashion, his recovery wasn’t about him like it should’ve been — he centered it around everyone else. Getting himself hurt, regardless of his reasoning, worried the people he cared about so now as some sort quick fix he had to be okay, or at the very least seem like it.

With all of this swimming around Nick’s mind, on top of the lack of sleep he’d been experiencing, he didn’t even notice the other person as he approached the mall until she spoke up. “Shit, sorry I-” He stopped himself and attempted to start over as soon as he realized how exhausted and defeated his voice sounded in comparison to how it usually was. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I wasn’t really expecting to see anyone here so early either.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he shifted his gaze to chalk drawing, “That looks good.” He motioned to the art, changing the subject, “It’s like the small sort of thing that might cheer a few people up around here, you know?”

“no, it’s fine, don’t worry about it.” celia felt bad, not meaning to make anyone feel apologetic or bad just because she had gotten a fright. she hadn’t even meant to react in the way she did, she was simply startled after getting so lost in her activity and her creativity that she had been using to take her thoughts away from the topic of the attacks. her cheeks turned red out of embarrassment for the fuss she had caused, but she still felt more guilt than embarrassment. when people had to worry about nearly losing their lives, the last thing they needed was for a messy, unobservant artist to cause them more strife.

thankfully nick changed the subject before either of them were left to deal with the beginning of the awkward, slightly uncomfortable interaction for too long, and the change shifted the tone of the interaction dramatically. she smiled at the compliment, a genuine smile as he helped to take her mind off of the worries of this interaction and the fear she felt being in shrike heights. “thank you, i appreciate you saying so.” she was being a little kinder to him because she thought he might need that kind of energy from someone, and as he continued to speak she grew more and more appreciative of him.

“that’s actually… exactly what i’m trying to do.” she felt somewhat bashful sharing her intentions because she didn’t want him to think she was trying to come across as some saviour or hero with this gesture. she had originally meant for her artwork to be left completely anonymously, after all. “i mean, it’s also to help me kind of… not think about stuff, i guess, but i was hoping it would bring some other people some light too. make them at least smile when coming in, at the very least.” it was confronting to speak the truth when it was laced with the topic of the crimes and the state of shrike heights, but it also felt extremely nice talking about something that could be uplifting rather than heavy. “everyone deserves an extra smile in the day.” maybe not the killers, but everyone else did, at least.

#th.#nick.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. hen wen

hen wen often called herself ill , called herself unwell . she didn’t know why her brain worked the way it did , but it was often a hard place for her to reside and she wasn’t especially proud of some of the paths it led her to take . it was during the hardest times that what she would consider her sickness showed ; she had last seen it so extreme when her brother passed . she was the one to find his body where it was still and unalive in his bed , and in the weeks following his death she would often find herself acting on the impulses of her sick brain by laying in his bed in the very spot his body had been , the sheets still unwashed . she would weep and weep and scream her lungs out until she had no voice remaining , but then she left shrike heights . they couldn’t explain why this was the response to trauma their mind decided they must have , but it was creeping up on her again after the events that had unfolded in shrike heights .

she should have been afraid of the mall - she was afraid of the mall , or at least of the killers that plagued it - but there she was anyway . it was much too early for them to be up , they didn’t even have work that day or a reason to be at the mall , but despite all of the factors playing against their decision there they were anyway . they were still bundled up as if it was the peak of winter , and their bandaged face was mostly covered by their hair that fell messily from an old ratty beanie they had pulled out for their spontaneous early morning trip to the scene of their most recent traumatic event . they had expected to be alone , expected to be able to act as they always had in their apartment alone when they would say ‘ fuck you ’ to the universe that had taken their brother from them , but then they spotted celia . they didn’t have time to once again say ‘ fuck you ’ to the universe that kept continuing to hurt them now that they were in the company of another .

somehow another person’s presence took away the immunity that their brain had earlier given them to shield them from the fear they should have felt at the mall . their breath caught in their throat , their heart just about stopped before it began beating rapidly , and tears welled up in their eyes . they were about to break , about to panic , about to have a complete meltdown - but then celia’s art caught their eye . hen wen had always been an artist before anything else , and while a chalk drawing couldn’t take all of their horrible feelings away it was at least a distraction they were qualified to comment on . “ i didn’t expect anyone either . ” they hadn’t talked to many people since the attack , so beginning to participate in this conversation felt so foreign . “ i just came closer to see what you’re drawing . ” they explained , no hostility or spunk in her voice , her tone making her sound so far from her true self . “ it’s cool . ” part of them expected to be able to hold better conversation than this ; they should have known .

celia’s breath caught in her throat when she realised who her company was. it wasn’t easy to see any of their injuries in the darkness or in the way they had dressed clearly to ensure they didn’t catch others’ attention (though she was able to note the way hen wen walked strangely, which made sense after a broken tailbone) but celia knew hen wen enough to recognise it was them when they approached. living in a small town like shrike heights, it was only understandable to know every other resident at least through a friend of a friend, and when something dramatic or horrific happened like the attack hen wen had endured, word spread.

it was confronting, seeing them out at this odd time in what celia would have assumed to be the scariest place for them - the scene where they almost died - but celia knew she couldn’t allude to being spooked over the sighting. this wasn’t about celia right now, it couldn’t be; her fear was founded and completely valid, but she wasn’t about to rub it in the wounded face of someone who had suffered the worst fate celia could imagine coming from all of this.

celia swallowed thickly, and she tried to divert her attention from everything other than what hen wen was saying, anything other than her art which she felt was a safe choice right now. “thanks. it’s nothing much, it’s just what i like to do sometimes.” she explained, finding it hard to look up to meet the other’s eye. she hoped the darkness would conceal the fact. “i didn’t expect anyone to see me doing it, though. i was kind of planning on just leaving it, like… anonymously.” she shrugged, unsure as to why she was even sharing this part but still enjoying it much more than the uncomfortable silence she assumed they would be made to deal with if she hadn’t kept talking.

#th.#hen wen.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. delilah

Delilah loved working at the bakery, but the one downside was that, well. The baked goods weren’t going to make themselves, so someone had to come in and get everything done before opening. It wasn’t always her, of course, but it was a fair bit. She didn’t mind it that much, though, because there was something about mornings, something that was different than any other time of day. A quiet.

With everything that had been happening, it was always a little off, but she tried her hardest not to spend time dwelling on it, or else she’d just be afraid all the time.

She had gotten there a bit earlier then she intended this morning, and was cursing herself a little for it - she could sit in her car, but even the thought of that made her antsy. As she got out, and approached the front entrance, she was surprised, but not unpleasantly so, to see that she wasn’t alone. There was a girl, who she kind of recognized, as much as anyone else who worked at the mall, drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. Delilah approached, not meaning to startle her, but also realizing she probably should have said hello, or something.

“No, it’s fine. Sorry, I promise I’m not… Y’know.” She didn’t want to say the actual words, but was sure that the girl would know what she meant. “That’s pretty good.” She said, gesturing to the art on the sidewalk.

celia was still slightly shaken up as their interaction began properly, but she wasn’t afraid of the woman, nor did she think she was going to hurt her in any way. she didn’t think that delilah was one of the killers, but regardless, it was always nice to get some sort of reassurance and promise that things were okay, especially during a time when things were so far from that, so far from okay. she smiled at the promise, but the reassurance quickly faded away.

knowing that delilah wasn’t here to hurt her was a good thing, but the thought quickly made her confront the fact that a killer showing up was an extremely real possibility for her - and now for the both of them. her art had taken her out of reality but now celia was grounded once again, the coloured chalk on the ground being just that, no longer an escape. she swallowed thickly and she tried to move past the fear and focus on distraction once again.

her choice of distraction was the woman in front of her, though in her tired state it was difficult to smoothly and seamlessly shake the fear. “thanks.” she said plainly, standing in silence for just a second before she spoke up again to keep trying. “it’s something i do to try to, i don’t know, feel better about everything.” without any better ideas she resorted to telling the truth. “i kind of hope that people who see it can forget about everything too, even just for a second.”

#th.#delilah.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. noah

Noah was an early bird, who often hoped for, but never exactly got the worm in the abstract sense of it. He’d biked his way to the mall early, and it wasn’t rare for him to be among the first people just waiting for the damn security guard to let them in already. He arrived with his little work vest and name tag on, and when he went to try the door, he groaned.

“I swear, it’s like you take sadistic pleasure in making sure we’re just out here standing around waiting for you to feel like letting us in,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “It wouldn’t kill you to let us in early!” he called through the glass at the guard who promptly ignored him and kept walking. There was technically still a while to go before the mall was open, he supposed, but the wait still sucked. He sighed and turned to look at what Cecilia was doing on the sidewalk, finally noticing that she’d been coloring it.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you, I didn’t realize you were there,” he said apologetically. “Holy shit, that looks totally awesome. Are you an artist or something? I couldn’t paint my way through a hopscotch grid,” he joked.

“it’s fine, it’s all good.” she brushed the issue away, gesturing with her hands as if she was wiping the slate clean quite literally. noah didn’t have anything to apologise for, and neither did she in the grand scheme of things, but they had both done so regardless and celia was ready to call it even there. “i didn’t realise you were there either, we’re square.” she chuckled, mostly out of embarrassment over how she had been frightened by his presence.

celia truly hadn’t realised that noah was there as she had been so consumed by the activity she was partaking in in order to forget about the sometimes debilitating anxiety and fear she felt over the current state of shrike heights. it had been a surprise and a shock to suddenly find herself not alone, but she received even more of a surprise as she found that having even just the one person as company was comforting enough to dull the fear ever so slightly. there was no logic behind it - people were being attacked in groups, even in crowds - but celia wasn’t in any hurry to doubt something that was helping.

“or something, i guess.” she laughed again, this time a little sheepishly. “i’ve practised art for a long time, but i wouldn’t say i’m an artist.” she explained. becoming an artist was just one of her excessive amount of dreams and goals for her life, one of many that would most likely never be realised in a professional capacity. “thank you, though. i appreciate that.” she smiled, a little bit awkwardly, but genuinely.

#th.#noah.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. geo

geo could relate to losing sleep because of recent events, he was no stranger to late nights and early mornings due to an inability to keep his eyes shut no matter how tired they were, though this also extended past the last eight or so months, past the time shrike heights had been under attack for. the shrike killers had taken the most from him, but he had experienced loss even before losing his sister in the latest brutal crime; while that obviously made his life the worst it had ever been, the worst it ever could be, it meant that geo was used to feeling the pain. they just weren’t expecting to have to feel a pain this intense and all-consuming, they weren’t expecting to spend this many nights so restless and so sleepless as they struggled to function as they should. but there was no way around it, no way out of it, so geo could only do their best to get through it. one day he would be okay again… right?

after a sleepless night similar to celia’s, geo found his empty apartment insufferable; he couldn’t stay there for any longer, couldn’t pretend that he would be able to fall back to sleep in the emptiness and harshness of a home that had once been full of life that had been so recently taken from him in the worst way imaginable. he didn’t give his plan much thought, he only knew he needed to get out of the place that was so haunting, he needed to find something to preoccupy his brain so it could stop hurting so much. it was an odd hour to be doing that - none of his usual methods would be available - but as he needed something he threw on his clothes and he made his way out, finding himself walking around town as most of it still slept. the sunrise was pretty; it was a shame he could hardly enjoy it.

they were lost in thought as they walked, and additionally too tired to register their surroundings totally, but they were suddenly hit with clarity as they found themself faced with shrike mall. it was hard to stomach the enormous building at times, and this morning was one of the more difficult times, when their mind was already focused on the horrific events that had happened inside. with a sigh they dropped their head and they began to walk, planning on walking past and maybe heading back home after that, but then their attention was captured by the sound of chalk scraping concrete. a smile spread over his face; it was the first of few that would grace him today, and it was appreciated more than he even understood it was. “oh.” he mimicked unintentionally, her fright scaring him in return. “no - i’m sorry, i didn’t realise i snuck up.” he apologised, smiling sympathetically. “i was so busy admiring your work; this is really something. this is beautiful.” as her art had been something that made him smile he knew he needed to express his fondness of it. “do you do this professionally or something?”

celia’s cheeks turned a rosy shade of red at the compliment and the assumption that she might to art professionally. it was one of her many dreams, but the fact that she had so many proved to be problematic; she couldn’t get a hold of just how many she had, nowhere near enough for her to be able to begin pursuing them. she learnt that the hard way after she had left shrike heights with big dreams and plans for her future; after not knowing where to begin she had dipped her toes into many waters, walked down many avenues, but she had come home feeling close to empty handed. she left college without any degree, but at least her efforts this morning hadn’t gone unnoticed. “thank you.” she smiled, appreciating that they said anything at all, even if it slightly embarrassed her to the point of her blushing. “not professionally, no. that would be super cool but- not what i do.” she debated explaining that she had tried - or at least thought about trying - but hadn’t been able to realise it. she ended up taking too long thinking about whether or not she should say that her chance to speak up and add the detail passed.

“right now it’s just a hobby.” even this detail felt a little late to share it, but then celia realised that in her exhaustion she had allowed her social skills to get muddled up and to come out with only difficulty. she was subjecting them to an awkward conversation and she immediately regretted it. “i thought it might brighten up people’s paths to work, you know? if they have something pretty to look down on… hopefully it’ll make at least a couple people smile. i’m glad you like it, at least. i don’t usually stick around to see the effects though.” she made what she was doing sound much more impressive and selfless than what it was, leaving out a lot of details. she didn’t explain that she was here because she could no longer sleep, and she didn’t explain that her art was created as a means to not only make others smile, but to help her with her own expressions also. “are you an artist or anything yourself?” as her brain got more and more used to speaking to a real human again - not just staying in her own head - her social skills were coming back to her. she was just thankful that geo didn’t seem to show signs of being discouraged because of her earlier awkwardness.

#th.#geo.

.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ celia feat. shrike

located right outside shrike mall. this is an open starter for @shrikestart

celia hadn't been sleeping very well as of late - had anybody, though? like everyone else in the town she was feeling the full effect of the tensions and the fear that were hovering over their heads while they waited for the shrike killers to be caught, and understandably it was enough to keep her from dozing off easily. most nights she was too terrified to fall asleep until it was much too late and most mornings she woke well before her alarm clock and was too restless and uncomfortable to get back to her much needed slumber. her mind ran rampant with worries and thoughts of whether or not it was smart to be in shrike heights or whether or not she should have stayed away or left again once she realised what was going on; there seemed to be no right answer to the question of what she should have done or should still do.

she was up before the sun this morning, but as she was rostered on to the opening shift at duchess she didn’t mind the early rise too much. celia did, however, mind the way her mind was buzzing with stress. in order to combat it she found herself at shrike mall even before the doors were open to employees, and she busied herself with something that had been working to distract her since the start of this scary period in town. down on her knees, dirtying her work attire in a way that would inevitably see her in trouble once stores opened, celia was painting the sidewalk with coloured chalk, lost in her imagination as she created an elaborate scene outside of shrike mall.

she hadn’t been expecting anyone to find her in the process, assuming no one would care to arrive as early as she had, believing that she’d get away with creating her art for visitors to enjoy without knowing who was behind it. she jumped in fright as feet suddenly appeared on the other side of her work; she had been so lost in what she was doing that she hadn’t heard them approach. “oh!” she exclaimed in fright, standing up and tossing the chalk down before dusting her hands off on her hips. “sorry, you startled me. i didn’t expect anyone to be around at this time.” she spoke sheepishly.

#opn.#th.#matching length isn't required #i just got carried away setting this up lmao #shrikestart

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