i'm a stranger to myself

Corinna Sutter | 22 | Costello Stripper & Drug Dealer

[corinnasutter]

missaverymercer·:

“Trust me, it won’t be an issue,” Avery chuckled as she watched the disgruntled man storm off. She could tell he didn’t have money, not like the others. She knew money when she saw it. There was a carelessness in a young man’s stride who had more money than he knew what to do with, and no amount of arrogance could imitate that carelessness. But still, it didn’t stop some men from pretending and expecting her to follow along. The audacity of them. 

“What do you do?” She asked with a gentle and inviting smile and turned her attention back to the woman seated a few stools down. “Honestly, you could tell me you bagged groceries for a living, and I’d still believe men bothered you. Men are…ya know,” She shrugged a little. Absentmindedly, she toyed at the little black straw rested in her glass and twirled it until the ice clinked against the sides. 

Corinna nodded, glad that was the case. The last thing she wanted to do was step on someone’s toes. “Good. Hopefully he doesn’t bother you anymore.” Though considering what men were like, it wasn’t like this could be the last annoying guy to approach unwelcomed. 

“I work at The Venetian, so the clientele can sometimes feel overly entitled to our time. But the security is good, so it doesn’t happen very often.” She wasn’t ashamed of her job, but after saying it, she wondered if it was a good idea to say she worked at a Costello establishment while in a Sinclair one. Maybe if she just moved past it, it wouldn’t be focused on. “But you’re right. Men are just...” she said, rolling her eyes once more knowingly. 

[corinnasutter]

chanelxalbright·:

Although Chanel was prepared with almost everything she needed even before the actual blackout occurred, she found herself in need of more batteries. Flashlights and lanterns weren’t any good without them, unless they were the solar powered ones and Chanel only had one each of those.

So she made her way to the store, picking up several packages of each kind of battery, some of them for now and some of them for future emergencies. Just as she was checking out at the register, all hell broke loose and several people began grabbing items and bolting. The person at the register just stood in shock, unable to hit their panic button since the connection was lost in the power out. Chanel clutched her batteries to her chest and then just threw a fifty on the counter knowing it would more than cover the expenses.

Running out of the store just as a loud shattering came from one of the windows, Chanel shrieked and began running around the corner only to just barely bump into Corinna. Stopping dead in her tracks, she looked behind her to the store that was still being looted and then returned her gaze to the Costello employee and grabbed her head to redirect her away from the chaos.

“Back there isn’t safe. We need to get away before they start trying to rob people next.”

Another yell came from the where the store was now being ransacked. It only seemed to keep her frozen in place, now concerned about whether she should try to see if someone needed help. But she was also afraid she’d end up just getting herself into bigger trouble by doing so. 

Before she could make a decision to step towards the store to check it out, someone came running from around the corner. Her eyes widened, surprised, before recognition of the woman overtook her. 

She let Chanel pull her away in the opposite direction. After hearing what she had to say, she had new concerns on her mind. It was probably a good thing she hadn’t gone to check out the situation further then. “Are-Are you okay?” she questioned, turning her head around to look behind them as they walked. “I can’t believe people are doing that--do you really think people are going to start robbing people? Isn’t that a little drastic?” 

[corinnasutter]

aaron-murphy-green·:

Aaron laughed and ruffled her hair. “No worries, man, I’m not kicking you out or anything. Just think that we might need to, you know, find somewhere a little more secure. Something with an elevator and like, a super who actually comes round to fix shit when it needs it. Sounds tight, right? Plus, two bathrooms. I think we can swing it.” Aaron’s dream was always simply to move up to the next level of comfort. He didn’t allow himself to dream any higher than that. It made every small achievement a cause for celebration. 

Nodding, he fell into step, leading her away from the current chaos in search of something less dangerous. “Yeah well, same, to be honest. I’ve never actually shot anyone. I’m shit in a fight, too. The muscles are just for show. But I’d rather shoot someone than die, right? This is America, isn’t that what we’re founded on or something?” Aaron’s knowledge of both American History and Civics was incredibly dodgy, since he’d dropped out at 15 and hadn’t really been paying much attention before that. 

Her question really hit at the heart of Aaron’s more abstract worries. He was 90% focused on just dealing with the here and now, but war was on the horizon, so to speak. “I don’t know. If anyone tries to fuck with you, you know I’ve got your back, 100%, but fuck if I know what’s gonna happen next. I suppose we could go somewhere else, but then we’d have to start from scratch, and people suck everywhere, so who’s to say it’d be any better.” Sighing, he dug through his pockets until he found a vape pen and offered it to her. “It’s good shit, none of that Vitamin E oil that’s making people sick or anything.”

Corinna let out a relieved laugh. “Okay, cool. Secure does sound nice. So does two bathrooms--not that it really mattered to me if we had to share. You know I’m good with whatever.” She at least was making a decent amount of money too with both of her jobs, so she could afford paying more rent if it came down to it. It was about the only responsible thing she had going for her, really. 

“You and me both then, huh?” Which meant having a weapon was the only thing going for them if they ended up running into anyone ready for a fight. “You know, I wasn’t much for school... Or paying attention in school...” she admitted, chuckling. “So that could either be very right or very wrong. But I doubt that’s going to matter if things end up becoming worse.” 

His words were reassuring. “I have your back too for what it’s worth.” Coming to Chicago had been her starting over from scratch. She wasn’t sure if she was willing to start over a second time around. Besides, maybe they wouldn’t be noticed in the grand scheme of things and it wouldn’t be too bad if things turned to shit with the feuding families. She took the pen from him, taking a quick hit before handing it back. “Thanks,” she said, exhaling out smoke. “If you’re sticking around here then so am I. I’ll just hope for the best which just happens to be my specialty.” 

[corinnasutter]

abel-costello·:

The apartment complex where Abel kept supplies had been ransacked, and it was lucky that the unit under his name was untouched; exiting the building with a duffle bag containing cash, supplies, and ammunition, the consigliere was ready to make his way to the next location when he spotted Corinna from across the street.

Grabbing her arm and moving them to an empty alleyway, Abel kept an eye out before addressing the girl.

“What are you doing?” 

Someone grabbed her arm, surprising her out of her staring. Her head whipped around and saw it was Abel who was tugging her away from the chaos. She should have asked what he was doing, but she was still caught off guard between seeing people ransacking the store and Abel appearing out of nowhere. 

They stopped in an alley way. “I was, uh, trying to buy some things because of the blackout.. And then someone threw a rock or something and then all of that happened. Should we call someone or something? I wasn't expecting to see that.” 

[corinnasutter]

holden-deals·:

“Don’t worry about it.” He located the band-aids and disinfectant and squatted down to be more on her level. “Everyone’s in a rush. The whole city’s gone nuts. This is gonna sting.” He poured the disinfectant into the cap of the bottle and, as gently as he could, poured it onto her knee, already wincing in sympathy. 

Corinna winced, letting out an, “Ahh...” in pain as he poured the disinfectant on her knee. She blew on her knee afterwards, it only slightly helping the pain. “Well hopefully a scraped knee will be the worst thing that happens to me until the power’s back on,” she joked. “How have you been holding up with the blackout? Guess I should try to be a little more prepared for disaster like you or Aaron..." But then she remembered him being prepared was by carrying guns. "Or maybe not as prepared as Aaron, but definitely somewhere between what the two of you are doing.” 

[corinnasutter]

missaverymercer·:

Where: The Black Cat

When: November 2019, post blackout

Who: Anyone

It came no surprise to Avery that The Black Cat would be up and running after what felt like a lifetime in the Chicago-wide blackout. It was even less of a surprise that the place was packed as if nothing had happened. Still and all, it felt good to be there, in the midst of her people again after an abrupt, unpleasant time away.

Avery sat at the bar, legs crossed as she leaned against the counter. Unfazed, she sat amongst powerful men and men who pretended to be such. They sipped their scotch and whiskey, and she sipped her lime tonic. Neat. Refreshing. Nonalcoholic.  She could feel their gaze, their eyes burning into her from head to toe. Avery learned long ago not to pay them any mind. It was a part of the allure. It was also part of her job. But as for tonight? She wasn’t on the clock. She was simply there to support her girls. Avery smiled a little to herself at the idea of getting to watch them perform for a change, but the smile quickly falls when she feels someone approaching her.

“I’m not working tonight. Sorry,” Avery said, half sincere as she took another sip of her drink.

Corinna sat at the bar, enjoying the performance on stage. The Black Cat had always intrigued her, but she had rarely visited since coming to the city. Since the blackout, she felt like maybe she needed to do more before all hell broke loose. It all seemed inevitable.

Her attention shifted to the person beside her as a someone approached the bar. She took a sip of her drink, deciding to mind her own business until they continued to stick around the woman sitting next to her. Rolling her eyes, Corinna spoke up, “You should stop wasting your time and go somewhere else, buddy, clearly she’s not interested.” This seemed to embarrass them  and they finally took off after muttering a few not so nice things about her. 

“I hope that’s not going to be an issue for you later. And sorry for interjecting... I get that kind of attention at work too and it isn’t fun.” 

[corinnasutter]

aaron-murphy-green·:

“Gotta say, we used to have power brownouts back in Detroit, this did not happen. People around here just way too worked up. Hell, my whole block lost power for a week when I was 10, pretty sure we just started a trashcan fire in the backyard to keep warm and kept going to school. They had hot lunches, so you know, worth it.” Aaron felt comfortable musing about the nature of society while watching the neighbourhood fall apart. “We might have to move though. Not sure our building is the right place for us anymore. I bet there’ll be some vacancies when landlords kick everyone out for property damage and shit. Gotta take advantage.” 

She noticed the gun and he shrugged. “It’s a riot and I’m a drug dealer. People start to think it’s cool to gank someone for their shit, I’d rather not be the one getting ganked, you feel? ‘Sides, I never use it, might as well.” Sighing, he leaned in and whispered in her ear. “I switched out the pellets in the cartridges for rock salt. Strictly non-lethal, but don’t tell nobody, okay? I gotta reputation to maintain if I wanna survive in this town.” 

“Marcel’s dead. Don’t know how, but I mean, it’s gotta be the Sinclairs, so I guess we’re either going to war, or we’re all out of a job, depending on how things shake out. Either way, shit’s about to get real, so you know, live fast and die young while you can.”

The story might’ve been an interesting one to hear if the exact opposite was occurring right in front of them. Aaron was right though. The people here were getting very worked up by the blackout, especially since there was no word of when it would end. “Oh. Uh, okay,” she replied at hearing they might need to move. “Well I go where you go, I guess.” It might’ve been a good opportunity to find her own place once more, but she had grown to enjoy having a roommate. And in situations like this, she thought she was better off not being alone. “Got your sights set on any place in particular that you’re hoping will have vacancies?” 

Corinna smiled at hearing the secret. “Cross my heart,” she promised. “I hope you don’t have to use it though.” But considering how people were acting, it was a good idea to have some kind of deterrent from unwanted attention. Who knew what else would go on if the blackout continued on.

The news surprised her. The idea of losing her job wasn’t all that earth shattering, but hearing a war could break out was. She didn’t want to imagine what that would look like for the streets of Chicago, nor could she see what role she’d have if it came to that. “So should I be worried then?... I mean, I know I’m not anyone special, but this could affect all of us, right?”

[corinnasutter]

holden-deals·:

The woman looked like she might be in pain so Holden headed over to see what he could do even before she answered him. He wasn’t expecting what came out of her mouth, either the comment or that he would recognize the voice. “Corinna? I definitely didn’t push you. I’ve got some bandages and disinfectant if you’re hurt, though.” He swung his backpack off his back to start rummaging for the aforementioned supplies. Holden knew Aaron’s roommate, of course, they’d hung out more than a few times at her and Aaron’s place and Holden was pretty sure they were on good terms. Emotions were running high with this whole blackout, though, so he wasn’t going to hold her sarcasm against her. 

At the voice, she looked up. “Oh, Holden...” she said in surprise. He certainly wasn’t the guy who had pushed her out of the way. “Sorry. I thought you were someone else.” Corinna looked at her knee and gestured towards it. She sighed. “Yeah, something for this would be nice. Thank you. Whoever pushed me was obviously in a rush...” 

[corinnasutter]

holden-deals·:

Christ, this blackout business was unreal. It must be some massive grid failure to knock out all of Chicago. At first, Holden thought he might just stay home (he was sleeping off a bit of a hangover from Halloween anyway) but by late afternoon with no power and things apparently going haywire, he couldn’t in good conscience stay in his apartment anymore. People might need help. He bundled up as best he could, loaded a backpack up with non perishable food, a couple hoodies, extra batteries, a flashlight, and all the first aid supplies he had in his apartment (which wasn’t much more than some antiseptic and band-aids but at least it was something). It felt better packing the backpack up like this rather than the drugs he usually transported. He almost reluctantly stuck his gun, which he owned but hated and rarely used, in the back of his pants and headed out.

Things were crazy in the streets and it seemed a lot more noticeable since the sun hadn’t gone down yet. He managed to slip around most troublesome things and focus on his mission. Hearing someone behind him, he turned around “Hello? Are you okay? Do you need help?” 

Someone had knocked into her from behind, making her fall. No apology was uttered and instead she found herself looking at the back of someone shuffling away quickly. “Asshole,” she muttered, picking herself off. 

Corinna brushed the dirt off of her hands before taking a step. She let out a hiss as she took a step, only to look down to see her had scraped up her knee. “Oh cool,” she sighed sarcastically. A voice ahead of her called out to her and Corinna mistook it for the person who had bumped her--maybe they grew a conscious and came back.

Without looking up from her knee, she responded, “Well considering you just pushed me. Yeah. Some help might be nice.” 

[corinnasutter]

sofia-fashionista·:

Sofia dragged the other girl into the alley, checking to see if anyone else was coming. She couldn’t tell, it was too dark, but she couldn’t hear anything obvious. “Not even a little bit. I am never leaving the house without a backup battery again. Do you have a flashlight or something? Or a car? Cars are better.”

Corinna was confused but compliant in being dragged into the alley. The question of why they were there and what she was doing crossed her ind, but the other woman’s questions distracted her. “Oh, uh...” She rifled through her jacket pockets. “I have the light on my phone? And a lighter... But no to the car. Sorry.” 

“Are you trying to get somewhere?” 

[corinnasutter]

aaron-murphy-green·:

Aaron thought that Corinna might be one of his favourite people ever. He wasn’t sure exactly why, since he’d decided that about five minutes after letting her crash on his couch, which had become permanent, but she was this space cadet of a kid who just seemed so chill and a bit like a sister that he’d just sort of adopted her and adjusted to the new state of things. 

Seeing her in the dark, he tapped her on the shoulder so as not to startle her. “Hey, rock star.” Watching people looting from the store, he leaned against her, putting an arm around her shoulder so that anyone passing them would know that the guy with the shotgun over one shoulder and the pistol in his waistband was with her and thus they were not to be fucked with. “If you’re really keen, we can go uptown and try and score a laptop or something. But you never know whose security systems have battery backups. Dicey.” He was personally against looting, but he was also supportive of pretty much anything Corinna wanted to do. “I think a couple pizza shops are still open. They got wood-burning stoves and candles and shit, so it’s just cash only til further notice. We could get a slice. My boss is dead, so who knows if I even have a job anymore. Might as well enjoy the good life while it lasts.”

Corinna almost jumped at the tap on her shoulder until she heard the voice that followed. A sigh of relief left her at seeing Aaron. She relaxed against his side, suddenly feeling a whole lot safer than she had been a minute ago. No one seemed to notice the pair standing there. Not when there were things to grab before authorities took notice. At hearing his suggestion to join in the looting, she shot him a surprised look. 

“No. Definitely not... Though a laptop would be nice...” She trailed off before shaking her head firmly. “No. Probably better not to get tangled up in that--Woah. Why do you have a gun on you?” Now her eyes were wide-eyed for a different reason, noting the gun strapped over his shoulder. She really needed to pay attention to the details sometimes. But as that thought occurred to her, something else did too.

Already wide-eyed, now her mouth fell open. There was way too much going on tonight. “Wait. Who died? What are you talking about?” His boss was her boss, wasn’t it? “You can’t just casually mention someone being dead, Aaron. I need context.” 

[corinnasutter]

With no news of when the power would be back on, Corinna wasn’t sure what to expect. Staying inside had been her plan until things went back to normal, but there wasn’t actually much of anything in her apartment. Her only solution had been to head to one of the stores down the street in the hopes there would be something left to grab. 

As she turned to the corner, the sound of shattering glass erupted. A few muffled shouts came from around the corner as did the sounds of shuffling feet. Corinna stood frozen in her spot, unsure what she was seeing until she saw a bunch of people running out of the store she had been planning on going into. “What the fuck...” she uttered out, eyes going wide at the scene. 

[corinnasutter]

check-yesjuliet·:

Juliet left her empty glass on the table, sliding out of her chair to follow the other girl. This was so much more fun than she’d given the night credit for at first thought. “If they have spooky themed shots, that would be my choice, otherwise we should grabs regular drinks.” Hadn’t she heard someone say something about test tube shots? Something like that felt just perfect for a halloween party like this one. 

“Ooh, yes. That sounds perfect,” she exclaimed in excitement. “I want to say I did see some themed drinks... That or I saw a lot of people with injection needles full of really funky things.” But a regular drink sounded fine to her too. That small logical voice in her head was at least saying she should think about pacing herself--not that she was used to listening to it. 

[corinnasutter]

sofia-fashionista·:

Corinna saw a flash of blonde hair run past her and turn a corner. Thinking something was behind her, she turned. In the dark, she at least didn’t see anything. Worried, she quickened her pace to see if she could catch up with whoever had ran past. “Hey,” she called out. “Are you okay?” 

[corinnasutter]

lucacostello·:

Normally Corinna was a welcome surprise. Not when she’d dinged him in the fucking nuts. 

She apologized, and while it didn’t make it hurt any less, Luca still appreciated it. He nodded, stayed hunched over as he stared at the floor. He was trying not to move until it passed.

“Yep. Just gimme me a sec.”

Luca ran a hand through his hair, glanced up at Corinna. He probably looked pretty pathetic. Still, through the pained expression on his face, he smiled a little awkwardly. 

“Was that payback for saying I had notes for you at Sapphire, or…?” He joked, followed by a laugh. Luca couldn’t be mad at Corinna when she clearly hadn’t meant to hit him.

“I’ll forgive you if you make it through the rest of this haunted house with me. Everyone downstairs was being a little bitch about it.”

It was probably a bad friend move to find amusement in his pain. Although she did did feel bad about it since she had at least caused this one. And at least this time she didn’t feel like she was on the verge of laughing at him like she had at Sapphire. 

“Alright. Take as long as you need.” 

Corinna flashed him a wry smile. “Nope. Just an unfortunate coincidence.” 

She could use the company. Plus she figured go through the house with Luca was bounds to be more entertaining. “Deal,” she grinned. “So how’s it been going doing this by yourself so far? Have you been in the room with all the dolls? That one was fucking creepy. I definitely feel like I'm going to have nightmares over that one.” 

[corinnasutter]

mayaparkerr·:

Maya headed over to the bar, “a skinny mojito,” she answered. “And I know, it’s a very basic girl drink, but those are always the best!” She giggled. Oh her way way there, she grabs hold of Corinna to make sure she doesn’t loose the girl in the crowd. 

“What about yourself?” she asked. “How are you by the ways? I’m sorry I haven’t checked in lately, it’s just been so hectic. Guess is why they don’t advise you work two jobs.”

“Hey, I was not judging,” she laughed. “I will follow you in basic girl drinks and get a cosmo.” 

Once they arrive at the bar, Corinna grins at the bartender and places their drink order. Turning back to look at Maya, she answers the rest of what she had asked on the way over. “I’ve been good. I haven’t been not good anyway.” The days tended to blend together since nothing was going on anyway. “How about you?” 

[corinnasutter]

check-yesjuliet·:

The relief washed over her, breaking out into laughter now that she knew it wasn’t just her being a bit tipsy and forgetting. Although she guessed that was still an option. “How about I buy the next round and we call it a game, huh? I should probably slow down after that.” Juliet still had to make it back to her apartment by the end of the night too. 

Corinna followed suit and let out a laugh,  grinning broadly. Whatever game they had been playing at least had killed some time. “Sounds good to me,” exclaimed. She jumped up from her spot, spinning around to keep her eyes on Juliet and to wait until she got up to walk with her to the closest bar. “Were you thinking shots or something we can sip on?” She, at least, had no plans on slowing down just yet.