“look,” she spoke dramatically, reaching for one of the bags and dumping the contents onto her living room floor. “i’m far from the artistic type either, hence why i decided to be stupid and go into medicine,” she spoke. “i mostly plan on bedazzling random shit because it looks fun. might even take my hand at trying to do one of these crochet animals too. the possibilities are endless daph, let your imagination run wild,” she suggested.
She snorted. "I'm sure I can bedazzle, I'll join you on that one," Daphne said, and wisely said nothing about crocheting, because she had once tried her hand at it and had ended up trying to set fire to all the wool she'd bought for the job. There was this sigh that escaped her involuntarily, like she could only indulge the lightness of the situation in small bursts. "I feel like I don't have much imagination left in me these days. Or much of anything. Are you not running on empty? I feel like I'm running on empty," she confessed, her words a little more hurried, her tone a little lower. But maybe she'd felt that way for years, and the feeling simply intensified on days like these.
"listen, you can tell me if this is a totally lame idea," savannah spoke to daphne. lately, her mind had been so clouded that she needed a stupid, mindless distraction. a unsupervised trip to the craft and thrift store later, she had a bag full of supplies to keep the pair occupied. "i probably totally went overboard too, thought we could put on a stupid reality show for background noise? i've been into the simple life lately."
"It is a totally lame idea," Daphne said, though her tone was even, monotone enough that it was clear she wasn't at all bothered by it. If anything, she needed a distraction, too, and she'd always been awful at seeking them out. To be brought companionship and something to do with her hands on a silver platter was an ideal scenario, a lame and ideal scenario. "I'm gonna suck at whatever we're making, though. There's a reason I studied art history, you know?" Her reluctance was a lukewarm indulgence of normality more than it was a serious complaint. "I think we could probably use some simple life, let's do it." There was a pun in there somewhere, something about life being simple, she knew it too.
Holly paused and took in everything about Daphne. She did look tired. But how was anyone supposed to sleep and still act like the world was spinning after everything that had happened. Though, Holly had a body. She had something to grieve over. Something that she could work towards for closure.
“Oh Daph,” was all she could say. Because what else could be said? The grief she was facing over the body had to be nothing than the hope tat maybe Jaeyoung was still out there. Or if he wasn’t alive, at least his body could be finally laid to rest.
It was cautious, as most things with Holly are, at first, but Holly slowly approached Daphne and pulled the other woman into a hug. It didn’t matter if Daphne fought it, though Holly expected as much. But it was the only thing she could think of that might help. So, Holly held on. She dug her fingers into the back of Daphne’s clothes and held on.
It seeped into her skin slowly, as the cold had done. Realisation never settled into her spine all at once; instead, it crept up on her until she couldn't deny it anymore, until it became overwhelming and it outgrew her. Now, she felt the hurt. Now, it was being acknowledged, in Holly's tone more than her words, and Daphne felt laid bare and stupidly hurt.
When Holly hugged her, Daphne stilled. First instincts had abandoned her skull, she didn't think to fight this anymore. Instead, she took this awfully shaky breath, and leaned in. Clung to Holly, if anything, grip tightening as if she could hide herself from the world if she held on with enough force.
"I-- I don't know what to do anymore, Holls," she admitted. It was quiet coming from her, compared to how loud she could normally get. It was a quiet and squeaky tone that had barely squeezed its way from her throat. "I don't get why everyone else got--" something. Something horrible, sure. Death, definitively. But something tangible, nonetheless. Daphne was still chasing ghosts. "And I'm -- I'm so sorry, I know it's not fair. I know you didn't get anything good out of this either, but--"
Yujin didn't even turn around when he heard Daphne open the door. Instead, he shrugged. He looked down at his phone. And he redialed Daphne's number. A little bit of humor could liven up this town. Everyone was so worried. And then there was Yujin: who had nothing to worry about at all.
He knew he was pushing buttons, but he knew who he was pushing buttons with. As the phone was ringing, Yujin turned to spot Daphne behind him -- which he knew about, obviously. But he still put his hand on his chest and let out a rehearsed gasped.
"When did you get there, Daph?" he shouted. "You're going to scare me to death one of these days, lady."
"I don't think you need to worry about me scaring you to death, when me punching you to death because you're being annoying seems far more likely," Daphne grumbled, though a certain kind of affection riddled her tone. She was joking. This was her most familiar joke, reserved for a person who would understand it to be harmless. She stepped back a little, further into her house, then reached forward to grab Yujin by the shoulder and pull him her way. This was an invitation.
"I'm surprised your sister let you out the house," Daphne remarked, turned to trail down her little entryway and trusted that Yujin would follow (and maybe even close the door, if he was feeling particularly polite). "Y'know, with how scary stuff around here has been lately--" She sounded entirely unaffected by it, presenting it as more of a parody of itself than the true circumstances they were faced with. Yujin didn't worry about this stuff, and Daphne was great at pretending she wasn't taken by it either. "It feels like there could be a ghost around every corner we turn these days.."
Holly just needed some air. Despite everything that was going on, the town felt so silent, especially in the morning hours. It allowed her to sit with her thoughts, muddle over what she had seen at Eden, and wonder why everything had to happen the way it did. Was there a chance she or Emine's family could have found her? There was rumors of Adem being alive, so where was Jaeyoung? Why only those four and not him? Why their bodies in the middle of Eden? And Valentine's day, of all days? If that was even significant at all?
It impossible to sleep with images of Emine's haunting her mind. So, the times where Ashford was quite, Holly took her time and soaked all of it in. When it felt right, Holly paused in her steps and closed her eyes. In deep breaths, she took in the scent, but it didn't last long. Annoyed, she opened her eyes and tilted her head at the woman in front of her.
Holly looked to her side. The empty pick of concrete left enough room for both women to pass. "Or you could like--" Holly said as she stepped to the left, making more room for the other woman. "Are you... Are you okay?"
The space was clearly there, so evident, bare. Daphne could've easily squeezed past if she hadn't been set on finding a hill to die on. There was something that overcame her, a chill running up her spine; she didn't know what it was like to be met without sharp teeth and balled fists. She didn't know how to respond if she wasn't being snapped at in turn. Are you okay?
"I'm perfectly fuckin' fine, I don't know why you'd ask," Daphne said. She folded in on herself a little, arms crossed, shoulders slouched. The morning had been cold, and she hadn't let herself realise that until now.
It didn't stick. None of it stuck. She couldn't sell sell this illusion that she was doing okay, she was ran off her feet, she was exhausted, she was chasing something she couldn't catch or comprehend. She just sighed. Something crumbled. "Holly, I'm so tired--"
everything had been a mess since most of them had been found and fiona was no exception. the woman had believed she saw something before the lights went off but couldn't exactly remember what - it was more of a feeling. she had known something like this would happen sooner or later and shouldn't have been so vocal about it. fiona benson lacked the understanding of when to voice her thoughts, or to establish if they ever should be voiced at all. now she was at the stage where she was blaming herself for imagining the scenario into existence. she played no part in the atrocities but her thoughts weren't logical nor routed in truth. if she hadn't said they'd been murdered, would they still be alive? it was something she continued to ask herself as a way of self-torture.
the woman had managed to get people so heated when they had all been held at the club and now it seemed that would follow her as someone was deciding to be confrontational with her on the street. "oh, is it shout at fiona day, is it?" shaking her head, she crossed her arms. "what the fuck is your problem?"
There was this awful, stretching silence in which Daphne was starkly reminded that her heart sat beating in her chest heavily, but almost uselessly. Like it didn't matter whether or not she would pick a fight today, because today and most days after were a lost cause through which she would only drag herself out of spite. She sat at an odd intersection of angry, always angry, and just completely numb. Drained. Tired. She swallowed down something that tasted like grief and focused on the anger instead.
"Oh, it can be shout at Fiona day, if you don't get out of my fucking way," Daphne said, voice afflicted with annoyance. There was this rambling she couldn't stop herself from, that spilled from her in quick words and something close to panic. "I'm so tired of this place, things can't ever be easy, there's always something going wrong -- can you just fucking move, I've got a job to get to--" Because now she really wouldn't go out of her way to go around the woman, to pick the easy option.
Yujin tossed his bike off into a spotty patch of grass. His limbs, cumbersome, moved up towards Daphne’s door. He was finally let free from his home and no longer felt the eyes of his sister tell him what to do, what he needed, and who to meet up with. All he wanted was to have a fun night with one of his closest friends and not think about what was going on in the town. Not that he thought about it anyways. Because he didn’t think about it. In fact, he didn’t even have to think about it. Because Jaeyoung was okay. There was nothing to think about as long as Jaeyoung was okay. And it didn’t matter if he had no evidence to prove it. Yujin knew this in his soul: Jaeyoung was okay.
In quick, fast, but clumsy movements, Yujin rapped his fist against the door and patiently waited for Daphne to open it. Well, what he felt was patient. It was only another second to two when he knocked on it again. And only another second before he reached into his front pant pocket and began to call Daphne.
Daphne hadn't imagined a knock at the door would make her jump, had always thought herself more level-headed, more steadfast. Sure, three dead bodies had turned up and the world had turned upside down, but Daphne hadn't realised she had been put on edge by any of that until she felt this chill rush up her spine.
And then her phone rang. And it was suddenly awfully clear who was at the door, anyway.
When she opened it, she was leaning in the doorway with a certain kind of defeat to the way her shoulders slouched.
"Jin, Jesus Christ, can't you give me a second to get to the door? I'm throwing my phone at you next time you call me when you're literally right outside, anyway," she complained, though her tone held no venom to it. If anything, this was her way of welcoming a friend into her house, some warmth seeping into her voice, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
open starter ↪ @ashfordstart
location: ashford park
It was around 10am when Daphne concluded that she had, indeed, been out all night, and had continued her wandering well into the morning. It hadn't stopped her from doing what she needed to do: she had had a dog walk scheduled at 8am, had dropped the dog back for 9:30, and she was now making her way through the park to get to a kid she was supposed to be tutoring on the fucking Renaissance. But God, she was not holding on at all -- reality seemed removed from her, every step taken by a restless body that wasn't her own, she was tired, she was so fucking tired.
The stupid thing was that she hadn't gone out for a drink, for a party, for anything that would've been remotely excusable. Daphne had wandered most of the backstreets of town looking for Jaeyoung. Because the Ashford Five had all turned up, except for him, and Daphne had concluded that if no one was going out searching for him, she'd damn well do it herself. ( What she hadn't really thought about, even when left with her thoughts all night, is that she was distinctly looking for a corpse. That in her mind, there was no way he was still alive ).
She was stumbling now, looked like she'd seen a ghost or maybe was one herself. She hadn't slowed down in hours. When she stopped in her tracks, it was because she was forced to. Because someone had turned up in her path, and her exhausted mind hadn't thought of a workaround, hadn't thought to just slip past them. Whether they were blocking her on purpose or were the latest hapless victim of her misdirected anger didn't matter--
"Can you just fucking move, please? Some people have places to be, you know--"
◜☾ ˚ ﹔ open starter › @ashfordstart
◜☾ ˚ ﹔ location › random dive bar. ( capping 0/4 )
drew figured that if the alcohol didn’t wear off, he wouldn’t have to process any of it. if he kept the burn alive in his throat, maybe the image would blur. maybe it wouldn’t settle. his bar — the bar — was wrapped in yellow tape now. glitter and heart-shaped confetti sealed behind police lines. eden had given him time off, like that was supposed to help. like time was the problem. how was he supposed to let that image sink in? julia in that closet. julia, still.
he couldn’t. not julia.
he’d left years ago to chase something bigger — the career, the dream, the version of himself he’d always promised himself he’d become. he didn’t regret it. how could he? it had made him who he was. she’d even been proud of him — she’d told him to go. that wasn’t the part that hurt. what hurt was that the last time he saw her, neither of them knew it'd be the last time.
he exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening quickly. nope. that road didn’t lead anywhere good.
he glanced around the unfamiliar bar, searching for anything to drown it out. his eyes landed on the person beside him. close enough. he motioned to the bartender, urging them over. “can we get six shots over here for the two of us?”
"Oh, now it's a party," Daphne muttered, this hollow amusement in her tone. Like she wanted to indulge Drew as much as she simply couldn't commit to it -- she was too tired, too drained. It felt like all life had been funneled out of this town, like a bubble had burst. What was left behind now was simply nothing, or something close to that. It was Daphne, tapping her nails on the bar, but not feeling that she was doing it, only hearing the sound.
"Can we make it tequila? We gotta do this right." It would feel too depressing otherwise, Daphne considered, though the words had left her mouth before she had thought it through. Daydrinking on whiskey would feel too much like an acceptance of tragedy, it would feel like giving in, giving up.
DAPHNE HOLLOWAY the 25 year old is said to have lived here for ON AND OFF, ALL HER LIFE. We heard they grew up to become a DOGWALKER and resident in WHITE PINE HEIGHTS. They are known to be COURAGEOUS and TEMPERAMENTAL which makes sense when you think about how they were the EX OF JAE-YOUNG PARK who went missing 5 years ago. Maybe this year will change things for them.
tw: grooming, age gap relationship
basics
name: daphne josefina holloway
nicknames: daffy, dj, holls
date of birth: december 8th, 2000
place of birth: ashford, maine
age: twenty-five
gender: cisfemale
pronouns: she/her
sexuality: bisexual ( and making it everyone's problem )
occupation: self-employed dog walker, history tutor, babysitter
pets: a leonberger dog called apollo
aesthetics: bleached blonde ends, wine-stained lips, cigarette ashes in a cocktail glass, smudged mascara, dirt under her nails
talents: surprisingly good singer, sucks at chess but never loses because she wins the fight she picks afterwards, can tie a cherry stem with her tongue
habits: prefers to sit on the highest available surface in a room, leaves open cupboard doors, doesn't text back as often as she should
inspirations: asuka ( neon genesis evangelion, i'm a one trick pony ), akihiko ( persona 3 ), fleabag ( fleabag ), april ludgate ( parks and recreation)
physical
height: 5'4
visual: her hair is always a little fried at the edges, whether it's bleached blonde or if she's temporarily gone for brown. the circles under her eyes are almost as dark as her eyes themselves. she tends to be smudged with dirt when out and about.
style: leather jackets, lacy tops, big military-style boots, the occasional plaid shirt, tends to go for oversized clothing. she loves a red accent colour.
quirks: fidgets with her hands a lot, does a little spin whenever she can't think of a word, she clicks her tongue when she's about to make an announcement, bites at her knuckles when she's feeling anxious
personality quirks: she prepares for fights she hasn't yet picked, sometimes she listens just so she can argue. when she's lost in thought, she's difficult to bring back to earth. has a habit of leaving without telling anyone. she makes up straight-faced elaborate lies on a night out.
background
daphne grew up as the youngest child of a younger couple that should have never had kids to begin with. she and her siblings were squished in a trailer windy harbors and left to fend for themselves most days. luckily, for daphne that meant that she was looked after, fed and kept clean by a horde of siblings she saw more than she did her parents. daphne grew up knowing all the backstreets of ashford by heart, an alleycat by design, and with the distinct feeling in her chest that she was never made for something bigger, that she'd simply rot away on the edge of ashford, if she even made it to adulthood at all.
everything in her house was a fight. there was enough food, but never enough for seconds unless you were willing to break the hand of whoever else was reaching for it. daphne grew up believing that scarcity was the way of the world, and that kindness was great for people that could afford it, but she wasn't one of them.
her earliest memory of school is of how quickly she fell behind. how much some of the other kids knew already, how much she struggled to keep up. they'd bully her in the playground, but she'd get the last laugh, because she'd throw a great right hook. her siblings tried to help her, sure. she was tutored by one of her brothers from the moment she started school and it became apparent she simply couldn't read. but nothing seemed to stick and nothing seemed to work. there was this pit inside her stomach that grew more vicious and warm every day, every time daphne was called on to read in front of the class, when the other kids would giggle under their breath. daphne was always so desperate to prove herself, but had nothing to show for it.
it took three years for a particularly attentive teacher to realise that daphne needed glasses. it only confirmed to daphne that kindness wasn't meant to find her, and only caught her at her worst moments. it felt like being kicked when she was already down, especially when the teacher insisted on buying her glasses because her family couldn't afford a pair.
after that, things improved. she quickly caught up, her intelligence and resilience the only things she took pride in. she reached top of the class by the time she finished middle school.
then her brother passed her an old laptop as a hand-me-down, and things got worse from there. see, daphne was always lacking something. support, a hand to hold, attention, love. she found it in all the places she shouldn't, random chat rooms that evolved to random group chats, to random private messages between herself and an adult man.
daphne knew stranger danger, but she also knew that everything she was being told made sense in her mind, that they were friends, that daphne simply wasn't like the other kids her age. because she was smart, more mature, all these brilliant things that no one had picked up on before. so it wasn't weird when she gave him her address, and when he would start picking her up from school.
everything slipped away from her. she would stay up late or skip school altogether because her boyfriend told her to. she would buy alcohol to his instructions, tried more at his insistence. she was engaging with ideas she couldn't understand, playing house with a man double her age. she was about to drop out of school, to fade away, to live the washed out life she had secretly always thought was the best she would ever get.
but then there was jae-young. a completely normal boy at her school, of her age. he caught her crying behind the bleachers once, and he wouldn't fucking leave her alone after that ( is what she'd say, in reality, he was simply concerned ). daphne's world slowly shifted back to something manageable thanks to him. he helped her study. she ditched her dumb older boyfriend. and yeah, sure, she eventually started dating jae-young instead, because she was really into him, actually.
it was thanks to jae-young that daphne started thinking bigger. that this fight she always had in her didn't have to simply be for survival, but could be used to achieve whatever she wanted.
daphne won a full-ride scholarship abroad right as she finished high school, something she never thought herself capable of.
when she and jae-young broke up, it was only because daphne was packing her bags for london, and she didn't want him to be tied down for her sake. it was amicable. she'd be back in a few years, they would see each other then, they'd be good friends in any case--
except she never saw him again. when daphne came back from london (in her pocket, a degree in history of art and dutch of all things), jae-young had gone missing.
so sure, she took a self-destructive route for a little bit, as a grieving girl would. she was partying, drinking, finding and flirting with strangers wherever she could. then she tried her tears and moved on, because everyone had to, time kept moving, nothing was being resolved.
she still indulges in the partying habit every now and then. but the thing about daphne is that she's tough enough to be out all night, then get up at the crack of dawn to make something of her day. she doesn't want to be like her parents, so she started earning money. odd jobs, all day long, over and over again. dogwalking, babysitting, tutoring. she's put together flatpack furniture for other people before, and she has very often lied on her cv. then, in the evenings, she'll unwind and go party. and sure, she can't really remember the last time she's slept, but she's fucking keeping it together, alright--
//
wanted connections
her best friends -- she might've met them on a night out, or have been friends with them from high school. daphne is relatively hard to befriend, but an incredibly loyal friend to keep.
art friends -- these are the people she geeks out with over art, and it's a side of her not many people get to see.
hookups -- she's hooked up with half the town at this point and she's not particularly bothered by it.
clients -- do you have a dog? do you have a child? i have the sitter for you.
good influence -- someone trying to keep her on the right path because she sure as fuck falters sometimes.
bad influence -- the opposite of that.
'if the world was ending' -- she's not on good terms with this person, but they're her drunk call, her 'everything is going wrong and i need to cry to someone' friend, her 'we hate each other but i'd spend my last night on earth with you' kinda pal.
i'm probably forgetting loads but i'm really really down for anything !!
tldr
a hardworking babygirl stitched together with some anger issues idk
2087
tangentwithtanner
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