𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓.

[charlotteoh]

[ kim yura, cisfemale, she/her ] - was that CHARLOTTE OH i saw by the lighthouse today? i heard that the THIRTY year old who has been in nightrest for HER WHOLE LIFE and works as a PHYSICAL THERAPIST AT GRIGGS GENERAL has a reputation of being RESILIENT, but also INSECURE. they reside in ASHMORE & people in town usually associate them with THE SCENT OF LAVENDER AND VANILLA, AN EPHEMERAL GLIMMER OF LONGING AND SADNESS IN HER EYES & SITTING IN SOLITUDE WITH A GLASS OF PINOT NOIR. let’s hope the killer doesn’t go after them next. [jia]

STATISTICS.

NAME: Charlotte Seol-Ah Oh

AGE: 30 years old

BIRTHDAY: September 19th, 1992

ZODIAC CHART: Virgo sun, Gemini moon, Taurus rising

GENDER & PRONOUNS: Cisfemale, she/her

FACE CLAIM: Kim Yura

OCCUPATION: Physical therapist at Griggs General

PLACE OF BIRTH: Nightrest, Salem, Massachusetts  

CURRENT RESIDENCE: Ashmore

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Heterosexual

HEIGHT: 5′7″ (170 cm)

BACKGROUND.

Charlotte was born to a wealthy family in Nightrest. Being the heads and the owners of a big tech company with a busy social life, her parents were mostly absent and inattentive, leaving their three kids under the care of nannies.

From a very young age, Charlotte was an overachieving perfectionist, driven by the need to capture her parents’ attention. If she wasn’t excelling at school, she was bending herself into being the most charismatic daughter at her mother’s social events, but somehow, neither quite captured her parents attention. Her mother focused on Jake and Sarah, and her father was too busy to give her the time of day. Even when her mother began to butt heads with Sarah, the attention didn’t move onto Charlotte. It just seemed that whatever she did was futile. She loves her siblings, despite the jealousy she felt growing up.

At school, Charlotte kept to herself, focusing on her studies and being number one in her class, and focusing on her extracurriculars. She didn’t care to fit in socially. She was never really naturally charming and friendly like her siblings were. She played tennis and the violin growing up. Her social life wasn’t great at school. She was an introvert, mostly, and could count her friends on one hand. She didn’t go to parties often, didn’t rebel. While she didn’t have a crazy romantic life, she had been on a few dates here and there, and has been in a relationship before.

During summers, she began interning and job shadowing at her parents’ company as she was expected to follow in their footsteps, and for a while she was sure this is what she wanted to do. However, she hated working in tech, and after a series of realizations that whatever she did, her parents wouldn’t look at her the way she wanted, she decided to do her own thing, something in the health sector. Her profile was strong to get her into Columbia University where she studied physical therapy. It was a no-brainer going back to Nightrest after graduation.

PERSONALITY.

An introvert through and through who prefers solitude over a crowd, Charlotte‘s always held herself to impossibly high standards. If it wasn’t for her parents, it was for herself. She’s always wanted to be number one, the best. Because of that, she’s always been disciplined. While she loves to have some free time to unwind and de-stress, she tends to follow a rigid schedule and she’s not considered a self-indulgent person. She cares a lot about her physical appearance and how she looks. She’s a resilient person who isn’t quickly fazed by things. With this package comes a doubtfulness and an insecurity in her own abilities despite the facts. She’s reserved, poised, and calm, all of which can come across as unfriendly, apathetic, and aloof to people she doesn’t know; however, she’s fiercely loyal and cares deeply for her loved ones and close friends. She’s closed off for the most part, but she can vocalize her emotions and can let go and be her normal self around people she is close to. She thinks about love quite a lot, wants to fall in love, but she fears intimacy. She’s very much the type to develop crushes, daydream about them and not act on them. She’s probably mimicked the idea of being in love in her previous relationships, but has never truly felt it, or maybe she was close to feeling it, but it never got there.

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

Ride-or-die / her person / person she trusts the most

A small circle of close friends she can be her normal self around

Ex boyfriends: I think she’s only had two boyfriends, one during high school (who was also her first time) and one after college. I’m open to brainstorming the details.

FWB: I imagine she only has one, because well, the girl has needs and she’s not really one to sleep around. She’s not a loser like her siblings <33

Give me someone she can crush on, I want to see her get a little obsessive about it in her head. She won’t do anything about it though, she’ll just create fake scenarios in her head and get all daydream-y about it lmao

Someone who wants to break through her walls? Or someone who’s soft for her?

A drunken hook up. She rarely drinks to the point of inebriation, but I imagine this has happened before and maybe one of the times led to a drunken hook up

A bad influence. Good luck with that, but I want to see it

Unexpected friends

Someone who balances her out

Someone who wants to get a reaction out of her

People she just doesn’t like

People who don’t like her?

Ex friends: we can discuss the reasons!

Maybe a pen pal she had during her school days? They could’ve met later on or something

Neighbors

Coworkers

People she knows through her siblings

Anything <3 definitely not limited to these.

[vindexance]

She swallows hard, nodding. “Right.” Talk. It should’ve been easier than this. Especially with how much she’d been doing it recently. Honestly, she wanted nothing more than to go back in time to the way things were a few months ago; casual hangouts with her best friends, no tension between the groups…but she can’t travel through time, so instead she needs to confront her issues. “I’m sorry,” she blurts out, breaking the dam. “I wanted to message you after Jake, and then I-I didn’t—and the reason doesn’t matter because I should’ve, and I didn’t. And I-I’m sorry, and that doesn’t make it better, but it’s all I have—“ this is stupid this is useless this is dumb “—and I just keep losing people, and I don’t know how to handle it.” She swallows hard, blinking. “…and…I know I never had particularly the best relationship with our mom, but I still wanted to say I’m sorry.”

[charlotteoh]

Charlotte has a lot of patience in her. She bottles it in and keeps going, even if it's at the expense of her own well being. It all goes back to her obsession with maintaining self control, hating the way she might behave if she acts on her emotions. Sarah's sudden presence after weeks, and her subsequent words don't ease the hurt and the anger in her heart, because Sarah says so much yet nothing at the same time. Her apology doesn't say much, and then she brings up their mother, and it feels like that thread keeping her from getting angry is ripped. "You're sorry?" She scoffs. What is she supposed to do with that? "Our brother went to jail and you were nowhere to be found. You couldn't even spare me a text. God, I know we had a shitty relationship growing up, Sarah, but I deserve better than this treatment." Especially when she's done nothing but be there for her the past few months. "I have done my best to try and mend things, but you don't care. I needed you and you didn't care." She sighs, the words flowing out of her lips unfiltered and equal parts pained and angry. "Our mother died and I had to figure out the funeral arrangements all by myself and you were still nowhere to be found." She quirks her eyebrow at his sister. "You're not the only one who had a bad relationship with her, Sarah. Because guess what, I had a bad relationship with her too. Mom actually focused on you growing up." She shakes her head, moving her fingers through her hair. "You're not the only one going through something and you come here and all you have to say is that you're sorry and that you should've done something and didn't. Really?”

[kyleyangs]

"That joke will only work for a few more weeks, Char, get it all out of your system now." Soon they'd both be 31 and growing old. Even if Kyle was smart, he was also a slacker, and he hated having to read so much when none of it really mattered to him. Charlotte was much more balanced than him, at least in the book-smart ways. In other ways, they were probably equally both lost causes. "That's medical shit though, it's different," he retorts, all while evading her question, because, of course, he doesn't want to read any of her work. Unless it was meant to put him to sleep. "How's two weeks? You can think of it like we're back in school, a deadline or some shit," Kyle adds with a grin. "Unless you have better things to do, that is."

[charlotteoh]

"You're still a few months older, so the argument still stands," she says, smiling playfully in his direction. "Well, maybe it'll broaden your horizons. You never know, you might get interested in all of that and find your true calling." She's joking and it's obvious. She can't picture Kyle working in healthcare, although he has the brains for it, he just wouldn't survive a shift when he had the tendency to slack off more often than not. "Hm, I can work with two weeks." She pauses at his words, a slow smile curving up her lips and she shrugs. "I'm a very busy woman now." With Junho back in the picture, she no longer just spends her time between the hospital and alone at home!

[aleynadurmaz]

"I know," Aleyna says just as quietly. She understood that Charlotte was strong, always had been, but she couldn't help but feel worried. So much has happened just in the past couple of months, it could definitely be too much for anybody currently in Charlotte's position. Now that the bag was out of her hands, Aleyna found herself immediately wrapping her arms around her older sister's taller frame, hoping that she could offer even just a little bit of comfort. "It is," she murmurs when she pulls away from the hug. "It's just one thing after another and it really isn't fair on you," Aleyna adds with a frown. "Have you visited Jake? How's he doing?"

[charlotteoh]

Everything was falling apart around her and she had no idea how to keep things intact anymore. From Jacob's imprisonment to severing her relationship with Sarah to their mother dying... she's starting to genuinely believe her family attracts tragedies, and she's not sure how much longer she can hold on before she bursts. She's a ticking time bomb. "No, it's not fair, but what can you do, right?" She sighs, moving to look over at Aleyna. "Yeah, I've visited him. He's in jail, so he's not doing well." Obviously. "Now that mom's gone, I've taken over talking to the lawyers, and they're still working on his case." It's making her really impatient.

[charlotteoh]

location: her place

featuring: @junhorhee

Jun was supposed to arrive any moment now and she's already finished baking him his favorite cake, for his birthday. She's put her entire focus and attention on today, hitting pause on everything else that's been going on, desperate to not care and instead focus on spending his birthday together. It's his day, after all. And that's all that mattered now. When she hears the door open, she rushes out of the kitchen to meet him, a bright smile on her face as she wraps her arms around his waist and hugs him. "Hi," she greets him, resting her head against his chest for a moment to breathe in his familiar scent before she looks up at him and takes his hand. "How was your day? I have a surprise. Come with me." With that, she tugs him to the kitchen, where his birthday cake is on the table, looking back at him again, her eyes bright. "I hope you didn't have a heavy meal at the hospital..." Though knowing Jun, he's probably been running on coffee and granola bars. She wraps her arms around his waist again, leaning up to pepper gentle kisses on his jaw and then his cheek. "Happy birthday."

[mvrrow]

When Charlotte says she understands - Eden actually believes her; it's not that she's automatically skeptical of her other friends, but Charlotte's lived through a similar situation. It's comforting - lets her relax a little easier about the topic; something she usually avoids with others. It's not them - it's her. It's usually always her. "I know you're right - I'm just avoiding an argument," like always, "I just - know - that when we do talk about it, it's going to be... a lot. I'm kind of scared of it." Of acknowledging that things will never be the same between them, even if they do somehow reconcile like Charlotte and Junho managed to do - but Charlotte hadn't run from the altar. "I know," Eden repeats - chewing on her bottom lip as she thought about it; at least she's honest - doesn't cast any delusion upon Eden. She keeps it real - and that's what Eden needs right now. Watching her friend's expression change - she leans forward with a brighter energy, reaching to take a sip of her wine. "That's really good, Char - I'm happy for you. You deserve happiness right now - and Junho's a great guy. I'll - root for your guys' success and everything."

[charlotteoh]

"For how long are you going to be avoiding it?" she wonders, and she doesn't expect Eden to have an answer, but it's something worth thinking about. At the end of the day, it's Eden who's stressed and anxious by his presence, and she doesn't want to see her friend stuck in this limbo that she seems to be in. She knows what it feels like, after all. She nods. "Probably, but postponing it won't ease that fear. I don't know, it might end up worsening it. Does his reaction scare you?" It can't be easy, surely, but Nightrest is a small town, you can't escape someone for long. She gives her friend a smile, appreciating her words. "Thank you, Eden." Even with how bad things are around her, Jun's presence in her life has been what she's always needed and more. "He's a great guy. I'm lucky... I'm really lucky."

[aleynadurmaz]

closed starter for @charlotteoh

location: charlotte's place

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Aleyna immediately said once the door was opened, and she held up the bag with what she knew was Charlotte's favorite from The Daily Dose, the only thing stopping her from wrapping the older woman in a tight hug. "I just wanted to see you."

[charlotteoh]

It's not that she doesn't want to talk about it, it's that she has no idea what to even say. She's not sure if she's more surprised by her mother dying or being killed. Does that mean the killer was never caught? Or was this something completely unrelated, so secret vendetta against the Ohs? She's not sure how to feel, and after the whirlwind that has been the past few weeks, Charlotte doesn't have it in her anymore. "Aleyna, hey. Thanks for coming, but you didn't have to," she says quietly, taking the bag from her and letting her in. "Honestly, I don't know what to say anymore. From Jacob's imprisonment, to this... it's a never ending nightmare."

[arabellareyesdfgsdfg]

Cameron couldn't help but internally sigh at this conversation. He hated having to talk to the uptight robot he had always seen Charlotte Oh as, and for as long as he'd known her, he always felt that she was beneath him talent-wise. Still, she deemed herself a necessary part of his day today, so he was going to humor it, if only because he was bored to begin with. Cam did not believe how genuinely sorry she was about his sister but he gave her a condescending smile regardless. "I am," he answers, the smile growing wider. "I don't believe my ex-wife can handle the responsibility of raising our kids alone," Cam said, knowing fully well that what he was saying could be told to his ex-wife. Good. He hoped she'll find out he's currently gunning to get back custody of his kids, especially after her numerous displays of violence and hearing she frequented the clubs while leaving their newborn and toddler behind. The town was small, and it didn't take long for word to spread, and Cam was so sure the judge would love hearing about her being intoxicated and walking around town in her wedding dress, and that was when they had a nanny. For someone who considers herself such a wonderful mother and for someone who hated him so much for leaving, she sure liked doing the exact same thing, and seems to like doing it frequently too. He was sick of this fake image she was projecting, but because this woman was not the woman he married, he really felt no loss in wanting to take the kids away from her, while simultaneously wanting absolutely nothing to do with her. "So I'm here to stay. I truly hope that's up to your approval, Doctor Oh," Cam sarcastically said.

[charlotteoh]

Cameron Russell has nothing going for him besides audacity, because he doesn't seem to care that he's talking about his ex wife like that when he's the one who left them behind. Charlotte has a lot of self control, and she can tell he's trying to provoke her. If he's a pathetic excuse for a man, then she refuses to stoop so low to his level, even though his words are annoying and disgusting, that he's talking about her friend like this, the mother of his kids. It's degrading and lacks basic decorum. Charlotte's a private person, and she wasn't gong to interfere and give Cameron Russell the satisfaction of getting a rise out of her. "Dilara's doing just fine taking care of her children," she answers with a smile, nodding. They're only Cameron's children by blood, nothing more. She's surprised he even remembers he has children in the first place. "My approval?" She quirks her eyebrow in his direction. There's no way she's talking to a grown man right now. Of course she doesn't like that he's back, but that's not her business. "I think you're asking for the approval of the wrong person, Dr. Russell. I'm not your ex wife." With that, her coffee finishes. She gives him another smile, though it lacks kindness. "I hope you have a good day." She gives him a polite nod, reaching for her mug and starts to head out, not wanting to waste her time on someone so worthless.

[junhorhee]

"I'll stop by your office before I leave. You're working, Char, it's only fair for me to come to you," he says, thinking it would be easier for her to not have to go out of her way in the middle of what he knew would be another busy day. "It's not an all-nighter if I plan to go home and sleep, is it? My excuse is better than yours, especially because I didn't have a choice," Jun points out teasingly. Working odd and off hours was normal, given that his job was important, not just to him, but to the hospital as a whole. Though, he didn't mention that his food intake in the past 12 hours had been limited to coffee and granola bars, because it was a little hard to have an appetite in the middle of the nighttime. He can't help but worry more about Charlotte though, knowing that with everything happening in her life, she needed to have some balance, which included eating right. "Just wake me up when you get back. We'll get something to eat," he says, not wanting her to have to come home and cook something, or have whatever leftovers were still around. As she agrees, Jun grins and begins walking towards the cafe, not bothering with the fact that they were in public, because not only was it not anyone's business, but being beside her made him feel at ease.

[charlotteoh]

"Okay, I'll wait for you then," she says gently, her eyes brightening up. With such a busy day ahead, this is something to look forward to. He makes her feel like a teenager with how giddy she feels, and that in the midst of everything going on, she's able to lead on someone and display some vulnerability rather than be the one people lean on. "Okay, not an all-nighter... just up all night going from one surgery to the other. Your excuse is not better than mine, Junho, but I'll let you have it because you've been working so hard," she says, rolling her eyes playfully at him, a smile curving up her lips. "As long as you've been taking care of yourself," she adds, with a faux warning look on her face. With the nature of their professions, it wasn't uncommon to bury yourself so deeply in work that you forget to at least have a good meal. She nods at his words, walking with him to the cafe, giving his hand light squeezes every now and then. Word around the hospital's bound to spread quickly, but she doesn't care, and it was so freeing not caring and knowing that Junho didn't as well, that he wanted this as much as she did. "I'll wake you up, and we won't try to cook, so don't worry about that," she teases. They've quickly slipped into a routine of sorts, it's like nothing changed, finding a stability and solace when everything around her felt so unstable and uneasy. "Oh, if you're not too tired, we could watch a movie, too?"

[vindexance]

closed \ @charlotteoh location \ charlotte's house

"Char-?" she calls softly, knocking on the front door. "I, um...I wanted to...to talk to you." This is stupid, she thinks, staring at the knot in front of her eyes on the wooden door. There's no reason her sister would want to talk to her. "I just..." She swallows hard, words failing her. "I just wanted to talk to you," she finishes weakly.

[charlotteoh]

Sarah is the last person she expects to appear on her door. It took Charlotte a few months to realize her relationship with Sarah was one-sided, that it was Charlotte who was willing to put in the time and effort to be there for her, not the other way around, and that was proven when she was met with radio silence after Jacob's imprisonment. So naturally, she didn't expect her sister to reach out now that their mother was dead—no, killed—and Charlotte has long accepted that things would never be mended between the two. She's not particularly happy things have gotten here, but she's done all that she could and was met with nothing. "What are you doing here, Sarah?" They should've been handling things together; however, Sarah feels more like a stranger than a sister. She lets out a sigh, looking inside her house, not yet sure if she's comfortable letting her in. "Okay, so talk."

[kyleyangs]

"Thank you. I'm basically the full package, now you see why I was so popular," he boasts with a grin, even though Kyle knew that he was never seen as that growing up. For every positive thing he had, there was something equally negative to share that put his reputation at a solid neutral, at best. "Maybe this can be a new hobby for you," he suggested jokingly. "Sure, I do. It was two months ago," he responds. It's not really his fault, because he was grieving and getting drunk every day, which didn't leave time to go through paperwork when he'd finally gotten the guts to take over. "There was some inspector guy that came in two weeks ago trying to talk to me, but I'm a really good bullshitter."

[charlotteoh]

"I think one of us has a faulty memory. You're growing old, Kyle," she jokes, scrunching her nose, as if Charlotte's birthday isn't soon. There was a long list of differences between her and Kyle and Mal; however, their friendship made sense despite these differences. Ever since they were kids, they were her true ride or die, through thick and thin, people she could blindly trust and didn't have to put on a mask or a brave face around. "What's the hobby? Reading documentation? I read enough of those at work already. Do you want to read my own stuff in exchange?" She smiles. It doesn't faze her when Kyle says the deadline was two months ago, and honestly, she can't blame him for dismissing things after everything he's been through. "Well, keep on bullshitting the inspector till I finish these."

[barbiehernandez]

truthfully, barbara had hoped to slip into nightrest unnoticed. well, just until she wanted to be seen, but she should've known that wouldn't happen. it's a small town, after all. at the name, her eyebrows furrowed. the name sounded familiar. as she put her bags in the back seat of her car, that's when it hit her. ❝ you work at the hospital, right? ❞ she questioned. ❝ i knew you looked familiar; i'm barbara. i think doctor rhee introduced us before. ❞

[charlotteoh]

Charlotte doesn't expect her to remember her, because, well, why would she? She tends to keep to herself, that she expects to be unfamiliar. Not only has it been a good few years, but they only met in passing. So her words shock her a little at first, before she gives her a gentle smile, nodding. "Yes, he has. You have good memory," she notes lightly. "I'm a physical therapist there. It's nice to see you again, Barbara. Are you here for a visit or did you move back?"

[dilara-k]

She had to suck in a sharp breath as she listened, and force herself to slowly let it out to not interrupt Charlotte but also perhaps to not cause attention to herself. Dilara knew she was right with every fiber of her being, but the bluntness of her words made her chest cave in still. Things were just easier with him gone. She had never imagined her life without him in it, and for that brief moment that he was gone she did. Then he came back and threw her into a loop she could barely escape from... Dee didn't want to admit it to herself but for a split second as she stared at his face outside her home she wondered- if maybe he was there for his family again. If he'd made some kind of mistake and what that would have meant. The fact that it didn't meant that her entire life up to six months ago was nothing more than a façade. A hoax. Some cruel joke. That felt even worst. How do you sleep next to someone for over a decade while fully aware that you're sole purpose in their lives is to break them? To shatter someone who's done nothing but love and cherish you... But there was no way of her knowing. Dilara just had to get over it somehow. Pretend like everything was fine and maybe someday it might be. "You're right." she said and swallowed, "I know you're right." Dee poured them each a glass of wine, and turned her body to where she could see her baby play. "He can open the baby gates now. Little rascal's turning my house inside out. Probably too much time inside. I should really get him to the daycare more to let him exercise his energy amongst other kids." she chuckled as she finished.

[charlotteoh]

Charlotte watches Dilara quietly. She doesn't really care if her words were a little too blunt, because the redhead needs to hear it. She's never been someone to coddle. Even if her tone's gentle, Charlotte's words tended to be direct. Maybe they process their emotions differently, but she doesn't understand why she's making excuses for a cheater and a man who abandoned her and her kids, or why she's still allowing herself to indulge in the what ifs and the whys of it all when none of it will change what happened, especially when it's been months already. Cameron's already done so much, she doesn't understand why Dilara's allowing him more power. She hates seeing her like this. "I don't need to hear that I'm right, I need you to believe it and to act on it, alright?" She knows she's dismissing it, opting to change the subject when things got a little too serious, and she'll allow it, because at the end of the day, this is up to Dilara, and Charlotte's a little too drained from her dealing with her own problems. She looks over at her son. "Kids are curious, he's just exploring," she notes. "Yeah, now that everything's safe again, it's not a bad idea to have him be around other children."

[jieunfms]

"No, but that's exactly why I feel like you should try it. Branch out, experience new things. You never know what you could've been missing out on." Sounding like she's handing out life advice as opposed to trying to convince Char to buy a mini skirt. A bright pink one. "You would if you at least tried it on and saw how good it looks. Like, look at you. You have great legs and they deserve to be showed off." But trying to convince her was a near impossible mission. This not being the first time she's gone down this road and having no success. With a quick roll of her eyes, Jieun stuck the garment back onto the rack with a defeated (and very dramatic) huff and turned to face Charlotte again. "Fine, but we're not leaving this store until you buy something too. At least something to wear for like.. night outs or dates. You still go on those, right?"

[charlotteoh]

"For a moment it felt like I'm watching a Ted Talk. I'm sure out of all the things I'm missing out on, a Barbie pink mini skirt isn't one of them," she counters lightly, amused by the approach Jieun took to try and convince her. "I'm not against wearing skirts, Ji. Just... not this one. I'll buy a skirt, I just need to see what else is there." It's not exactly what the younger one wants, but this should appease her a little. After all, Charlotte wanted a distraction, and she has a feeling it's the same with the other. "Way to call me out," she says, but there's no annoyance in her tone at all, it's still light, because she's well aware enough of what her life is like. "How about... this?" She picks out a mini dress for Jieun.

[kyleyangs]

"Some of us got into that fancy private school off our brains, Char," he counters, even if his brains had gone down the drain not too long after he'd been attending Wardwell on an academic scholarship. It was really his talents in basketball and connections to the Phillips that had kept him from landing back in public school. "You like to read, I don't. Besides, you'll be faster at it than me, so it all works out." Kyle rolls his eyes, because he much rather preferred the numbers part of owning a business than to how much paperwork there could be at once. "What's there to know? It's just... permits and insurance and shit from the county office. All I have to know is if I'm breaking even every month."

[charlotteoh]

"Okay Mr. Smart Jock," she jokes, reaching for whatever's in her reach—a pen—and throwing it at him. It's true, Kyle is one of the smartest people she knows, it's just that he preferred to let his brain rest and chill on the daily. "There's a lot of reasons I didn't take over the family company, Ky, and this," she says, waving the documents around, "is one of them." Except she'll happily read through these documents, purely because it's for Kyle and Mal. "We'll see what it's about. I just skimmed through the titles. I'll summarize everything for you in a few days, don't worry. You don't have a deadline, right?"

[jcsters]

( @charlotteoh )

"I'm sorry for your loss." is the first thing Myria says to Charlotte, standing besides her - eyes bouncing from grieving head to grieving head, all paying their respects for the deceased. It's a little sick, maybe, but they feel proud of the job they've done here - at putting together the service, the detail and attention she gave so that the late Oh matriarch could have the funeral she deserves. Myria tilts her head towards the other woman, slight frown playing on her lips, "I know this must be hard on you - losing a family member is never easy. If there's anything else I can do for you during the grief period - please let me know. I can like, drop everything and anything at any given time and head over. I'm like, a really fast runner."

[charlotteoh]

Charlotte's convinced her family is cursed. It started with absent parents—a father who worked too much, and a mother who obsessively cared more about the family's reputation than her own children, and played favoritism with her kids. Then it was two sisters who didn't get along, and who would never get along despite Charlotte's efforts. Granted, she had closed the door on that and locked it tight, finding the acceptance in her heart that it's better if Sarah stays as far away from her as possible. Jacob was unfairly thrown in prison for defending himself and doing the police's job. And now, their mother was killed. Did someone hate her family so much? Was there some vendetta against her family that she never knew about? Charlotte has no idea how to feel about her mother's passing—she never felt particularly close to her, and her mother made it obvious time and time that she didn't actually care. She didn't cry when she heard the news, she felt numb. She felt numb as she went to the hospital, and managed everything related to the funeral. It was nauseating that she had to take over all of this. She stood numb in the funeral, too, incapable of feeling anything. People were paying their respects and Charlotte was a broken record with her reaction. Myria's words are not different than anyone else's, and it takes her a while to register any of it. "Thank you, Myria. And thank you for being here," she says quietly. "I appreciate your offer. You don't have to stay here if you have somewhere to be."

[dilara-k]

"No, no. It's alright." Dilara denied the help and shook her head, "Alfie has been playing all over the living room with Macy so I'm not too worried about it right now. I'll get to it once they tire themselves out." As if on cue, her son dashed across the room heading back to his toys. Dee watched him for a moment as she responded, "Have you ever loved someone so blindly that you overlook all the things that they do that upsets you?" she turned her attention back towards Charlotte. "I feel like I'm constantly making excuses just so that I don't hate him. Ever since he left. And now he's here, and. . . he's not the man I married. He's nothing like the person I fell in love with. So I'm just stuck trying to figure out what happened. Where did we go wrong? But every talk turns into an argument. He makes me so angry. . .at the very least I deserve answers."

[charlotteoh]

Charlotte sits quietly as Dilara lets it all out. "I'm not going to pretend that I get what you're going through, because I don't, but maybe you're expecting too much from him and the situation," she starts, sitting up. She doesn't care about being a little too straight forward with Dilara, because if she were in her shoes, she'd want that. She was someone who got so deep into her own head that sometimes getting out of there was a whole feat. "You want answers, you want closure, you want to figure out what went wrong... but there's a possibility you might never get any of them." She's dealing with a man who left her and her kids behind with no explanation, why would he explain now? "And feeling stuck is going to impact you and eventually the people around you—so your kids and your sisters. All that for a man who didn't have the decency of ending things the right way."