For: @seattlehqs-starters
Where: The Story Keeper
One of Daphne's favorite hobbies was reading. It had been that way ever since she was a small child. Which is why she now had multiple bookcases crowding the shelves in her small apartment. As she stood in the bookstore flipping through a book, she turned to the person next to her. "So theoretically, how many books is too many books for one person to own?" she asked, a slight blush in her face now. "I think I may have a small problem, but I can't seem to help it." And while she knew that digital books were just as valid as reading a physical copy, she preferred the latter. She loved the smell of books and the feeling of real pages between her hands.
Aksel was in a suit. He hated suits unless they were brightly coloured or had a gothic appeal to them Today it was a simple, grey, slightly over sized, suit. He looked like he had just fallen out of law school. The truth was he had been at meetings all morning with his team. The management and agent had been present along with his P.R team when he told them that he and Matt were looking into adopting. They had all sat and talked then when the meeting ended, Aksel was left with a lot to think about.
Instead of heading home, he was in desperate need of coffee. strong coffee to clear his head. He walked into Starbucks and waited in the queue and saw someone he knew. “ Hey how's things?” He asked with a friendly smile then looked down at the suit he was wearing. “ I know… this is an awful suit.”
"Oh, you know" Daphne with a shrug. "I'm living the dream. But its nothing a cappuccino and something deep-fried and covered in sugar can't fix" she added with a smile. "How have you been?" She'd noticed his suit's fit even before he pointed it out. With a small laugh, she said "You're talking to someone who wears a police uniform on a regular basis. And there's nothing more ill-fitting than a police uniform." Especially on a woman. It was the 21st century and the default design for such outfits still flattered men instead of women.
Breanne couldn’t think about alcohol right now. As fun as last night had been, she needed a few days away from it. "I’m too much of a lightweight for that.” She laughed. She’d seen so many flavors already even though she had her favorites. “I tried some weird one earlier. Can’t remember the exact flavor but it tried to be a savory donut and I thought that was a food crime."
"You and me both" Daphne admitted. It was almost a shame to her New Orleans' heritage how much of a lightweight the blonde was. She hadn't always been that way though. Then she frowned. "A savory donut?" She practically shuddered at the thought. "Donuts should be sweet. Otherwise they're just bagels in disguise" she joked.
“ I promise you, I am fine. “ Serena said as she grabbed a couple toys that she had stashed in her bag for Winnie when they came back from their walk. “ I probably already have sand all over me, what’s a little more, right? “ Serena rustled the toys out of the bag placing them next to her blanket. “ I have these toys that you’re more than welcome to play with Dani. “ Serena mused to the little girl remembering when her daughter was that age. “ Oh they definitely hit hard for Winnie. I heard someone once say that toddlers are just trying to figure out how to be decent person. That kind of always stuck with me for some reason. It’s really hard to be mad at them after you here that. “ She continued for a second. “ My daughter is four now. She’s just out on the trail for a walk with her dad. “
Daphne laughed at that, relaxing as the other woman assured her she was fine. "I understand how that goes. I love the beach, but its amazing the places sand will get. I always manage to get it between my toes, even when I keep my shoes on the whole time." Which is why she usually gave in and just wore sandals. But it was too cold for that today. Dani's eyes widening as the other woman mentioned having toys, Daphne set the wiggling toddler down so that her daughter could play. "That's very nice of you" she said, genuinely touched at how kind the other woman was. Then she nodded. "I suppose that makes sense." Daphne certainly wanted Dani to turn out to be a good person. Anything else would have felt like a failure to the blonde. "That sounds like a fun age." While Daphne wasn't an expert on that age group yet, she figured it was old enough that kids could communicate in more than babbles. Which had to be a huge relief.
"Thank you so much! I am, it’s been quite a few days. I celebrated with my housemates last night and now we’re doing this today. Were we slightly hung over? Maybe. Probably. Did we wake up way too early for the amount of partying we did last night? Yes. Absolutely.” They’d been up way too late trying out this fancy alcohol one of Bre’s birthday gifts. She’d do it all again in a heartbeat given last year she got stuck at Skyline. “They definitely have chocolate. I saw some with a chocolate drizzle that looked interesting."
"I guess we'll just have to try and find you something else with alcohol in it to take your mind off the hangover" Daphne said. Of course she knew that wasn't how hangovers actually worked, but she wasn't about tor ruin the brunette's day by pointing out as much. "Chocolate drizzle sounds perfect" she added. It was just the right amount of chocolate, not too much. While Daphne loved chocolate, even she could admit there could be such a thing as too much of it.
“Yeah, I’d love to,” In this dire situation, Farah was quick to accept and take action on the woman’s offer. In a matter of time, she was away from the creep’s reach and settling herself on the barstool beside her helper. The counselor was more than ready to thank the blonde for all that she’s done already, but she threw a question her way before she could do that. “I’m doing much better now that you’re here. Before we catch up on everything, I’ve got to know what you’re drinking. It looks delicious.”
"I'm glad" said Daphne. She hated the idea of ruining her night out by taking out her detective badge. Or worse, having to arrest somebody when she wasn't officially at work. Just as much as she hated the idea of some creep getting away with harassing some poor woman. "Oh this?" she said, glancing down at the drink she was holding with one hand. "Its called a bluebonnet." She'd simply asked for the drink on the menu that sounded the most appropriate for spring. "I like the blue color. But I've also been warned it has tequila, so its strong."
Breanne had been counting down the days. A month had turned to weeks, which finally turned to days. And now Breanne was another year older. Celebrating once more in Seattle. The past few years she’d stayed home and her housemates had thrown together a party with their scraps of funds. This year she splurged and booked the Underground Donut tour. Which wasn’t exactly ‘underground’ but set in Pike Place. It seemed they were hitting at least four places. Breanne was interested in their overly powdered lemon donuts for starters. There was a caramel bar calling her name as well. The coffee offered was pretty tasty too. The group was sat at a table while their guide gave fun facts about the current establishment. “I gotta say, I really thought there were underground donut establishments that Seattle was offering on exclusive tour based appointments only. I’m not disappointed though. This is still absolutely cool."
@seattlehqs-starters
"Hey, who doesn't love donuts, right?" said Daphne with a smile. Then she added "Happy birthday, by the way." She was sure she had said as much already, but she figured it couldn't hurt to say it again. "I hope you're enjoying it. You only deserve the best." And Daphne had been happy to be invited, as she was still fairly new to Seattle and working on making friends in the city. "Do you think they'll have anything with chocolate?" she asked. Daphne adored chocolate, and thought a chocolate-filled donut sounded perfect right about now.
Hugo waved excitedly when his eyes fell on Daphne and Dani and immediately walked towards them. Dani, was after all one of his favourite kids to babysit even though he always claimed he had no favourites. He chuckled at what the other said, the number of times he had seen Dani do that, she really did need something like that. “You know, that is a cool idea, maybe even a shark tank worthy one.” he grinned widely before he leaned down a little to talk to the kid. “Hi Dani, having fun with the food?” he chuckled before he went back to talking to Daphne. “She is always so cute, even when shes throwing cutlery around.”
Laughing at Hugo's response, she said "If only. I imagine there's enough parents out there who would buy it that I could retire early." Her toddler couldn't be the only one out there who seemed to have a ridiculous aversion to silverware, right? "Yes!" said Dani with a smile at Hugo, causing Daphne to shake her head. The little girl adored him, which was one reason Daphne had no problem asking him to baby-sit. Of course her in-laws helped out, but Daphne tried not to take advantage of them. Especially because they refused to let her pay them. "She is cute, and I think its making her turn into a brat." She sighed. "Either that, or she just has Devon's temperament." Her late wife had been a bit stubborn, too.
Serena was taking in the warmer weather that was slowly starting to trickle in. Spring was upon them, and as much as she enjoyed the day with her daughter and her father. What Serena and Jamie had was unusual to most, but over the years it seemed people were more open. The two had never been together romantically, both wanting a child at the time. So they shared their daughter and it was honestly special. She wouldn’t be able to do it without his help. Serena was laying out on a towel in the sun soaking it up when she felt the sand hit her. Her eyes falling to the toddler not able to help but laugh. “ Are you having fun? “ Serena laughed as she saw who she assumed was her mother rush to her side apologizing which was not necessary. “ No, no. It’s okay. “ Serena said waving her hands about. “ I am already covered in it. My daughter did the exact same thing. “ Serena added as really it wasn’t that big of deal because it would be washed of afterwards. “ She’s adorable. How old is she? “ Serena asked curiously as she was younger than her own daughter Winnie.
From her spot in Daphne's arms, Dani giggled and nodded her head. Daphne, meanwhile, sighed with relief that the other woman didn't seem too upset. "You're sure you're okay, right?" she asked, giving the other woman a good look. She certainly didn't seem injured, with the way she was talking to Dani. "Sometimes I think the terrible twos have struck early with her." She smiled at the other woman mentioned her own daughter, though. Thankfully most other parents seemed more understanding about the chaotic behavior of a toddler than those without children. "She's 18 months" said Daphne. "So not too far off from those terrible twos I'm dreading. How old is your daughter?" She had to be at least a little older than Dani was, if the other woman had been through this experience herself.
If Daphne had to pick a favorite meal, it would easily be breakfast. And everyone knew the best place for breakfast food was a diner. Which is why she and Dani were sitting in a booth at the Skyline Diner that Saturday morning. Daphne was currently in the process of cutting up the small pancake she had ordered her daughter, when her daughter knocked the child-sized fork she'd been given off the table and onto the floor. With a sigh, Daphne stood up out of the booth to pick it up. As she did so, she caught the eyes of another diner patron. Giving him a small, tired smile she said "They need to make silverware you can strap to their wrists. Like when Nintendo made the Wii strap so people would stop accidentally throwing their remotes through their TVs."
For: @serenahollingsworth
Location: Discovery Park
Daphne was sitting on the beach in Discovery Park, enjoying the warmth of sunshine on her skin as she watched Danielle play in the sand. As she watched the little girl, she flipped through a romance novel. With one eye on Dani and the other on her book, she was quick to react when she spotted the toddler scoop up a clump of sand and toss it, nearly hitting another woman who was enjoying the beach. "Dani no!" she said, setting down her book and closing the distance between herself and the toddler in less than two seconds. She picked her daughter up so that the sand would no longer be within reach, ignoring her child's cries of protest as she did so. Turning to face the woman, she said "I am so sorry about that. She didn't get you in the eyes, did she?" She made a mental note to keep Dani closer when they were at the beach.
Where: The Story Keeper
Who: Open ( @seattlehqs-starters )
“I refuse to believe that there is such a thing as ‘too many books’.” Alyria chuckled, adding another one to the pile she intended to buy. Despite The Story Keeper being such a small store, it always had a whole shelf of books in Russian, which Alyria loved. She’d been reading and speaking English for years, however, reading in Russian always felt easier, and even now, Aly could plough through a book in Russian in half the time of one in English. “You think they’d let me return them once I’ve finished for store credit?” Well, the ones she didn’t love so much that she had to kept, of course.
Daphne laughed and nodded in agreement. "I feel the same way" she admitted. "I know digital books exist, but there's something special about being able to feel the pages, I think." She shrugged. "But limited shelf space means sometimes I do just get books for my kindle instead." Especially if it was a book she wasn't sure she'd enjoy enough to read more than once. Then she laughed again. "That would be nice. But I'm pretty sure they'd tell you they're a book store, not a library. Although I suppose it couldn't hurt to ask them, right?" Daphne was the sort who rarely gave away her books, as she liked the ability to reread them whenever she might want to.
It was Friday night and Farah wanted to be at home with nothing to do. She had a relaxing evening last week, so she decided to change things up this week. After changing into a cute outfit, the counselor walked her cute heels toward Click Bait. Arriving at the destination, she was placed at the bar and awaited the bartender’s attention. Unfortunately, she started to get unwanted attention from a creep beside her. They didn’t back down once she told them no, so she began to find some help.
“Oh my god, I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight,” Farah exclaimed happily to the person who stood out to her the most. Before they had time to react, the counselor mouthed help and did her best to motion toward the creep who was staring her down. “How’ve you been?”
Nights out were rare for Daphne these days. But she'd managed to get a baby-sitter that night, which meant she was determined to enjoy a night out. Even after the friend she was supposed to be meeting for drinks had to cancel at the last minute because of her own baby-sitter issues. Which is why the blonde was currently sitting at the end of the bar by herself, watching the various people who came up to order drinks. Daphne had always enjoyed people watching, even long before she became a police officer.
As she was drinking, a brunette spoke to her. At first Daphne thought the other woman must have confused her for somebody else, as she didn't recognize her. But then she caught on and said "I didn't know you were going to be here too! Why don't you join me at the bar and we can catch up?" She gestured at the empty seat beside her. "I've been good, how are you?" She glanced at the creep over the other woman's shoulders, trying to determine whether she should pull out her detective's badge.
Name: Daphne Giselle Palmer-Slade
Age: 33
Birthday: June 11, 1988
Gender/Pronouns: cisfemale & she/her
Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana
Length of time in Seattle: 6 months
Occupation: Police Detective
Faceclaim: Claire Holt
Trigger Warnings: Car accident, death, kidnapping, organized crime
Daphne Giselle Palmer was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She had a fraternal twin sister, born approximately ten minutes before her. Her parents were part of New Orleans’ high society, coming from two families who had been in the city since it was founded. As such, being a Palmer came with a certain amount of privilege. But what Daphne didn’t know was that her parents were involved in the city’s criminal underworld, doing business with some very dangerous people.
Shortly after Daphne turned 18, she graduated high school and was majoring in English literature at Tulane University. She and her sister had recently moved into their own house just off campus and were living their best college lives. But one night Daphne came home to find the house wrecked. Everything was upended and she found a ransom note. Daphne immediately called her parents, who told her to keep her mouth shut and not call the police. Daphne’s parents quickly and quietly paid the ransom for their other daughter. But to the family’s horror, Daphne’s sister was never returned. To this day, Daphne believes something went wrong with the crime and her sister was murdered so that she couldn’t identify her kidnappers. She deeply regrets not calling the police, believing that if she’d ignored her parents and gotten the cops involved, her sister would still be alive.
Daphne cut ties with parents shortly after her sister’s disappearance, blaming their criminal activities for her sister’s disappearance. Afraid she would be next if she didn’t make some life changes, she moved across the country to California. Settling in San Francisco, she began working as a waitress to put herself through university. While attending San Francisco State University, she changed her major from English literature to criminal justice. She wanted to prevent what happened to her sister from ever happening to anybody else. After graduating from university, she joined the San Francisco Police Department. After a few years as an officer, she worked her way up to detective. She hopes that by helping other people, she can make up for her role in her sister’s untimely disappearance.
About two years ago, Daphne was working a case when she met a young woman who was a witness to a crime. The woman had recently learned she was pregnant, shortly after moving to San Francisco from her hometown of Seattle. She felt alone and scared. Daphne formed a friendship with her, which ultimately turned into something more. The two quickly fell in love. When the other woman gave birth to a little girl named Danielle, Daphne adopted the child and the three became a little family. A marriage between the two women followed soon after. They had a quiet ceremony: just the two of them, their daughter, and a justice of the peace. But when her wife died tragically in a car accident six months ago, Daphne felt alone in the world again. She packed up her belongings and moved herself and her daughter to her wife’s hometown.
Daphne joined the Seattle Police Department as a detective. She and her daughter currently share a small two-bedroom apartment near the edge of the city. Danielle is now almost 18 months old, and is the light of Daphne’s life. She’s made efforts to reach out to her wife’s family, believing that Danielle deserves to know that part of her family tree. Especially because Daphne has sworn she will never allow her own parents to have contact with the little girl, for the child’s safety. As far as she is concerned, her parents no longer exist. Still, Daphne longs for a family she can rely on when she needs support and guidance. She hopes to find that with her late wife’s family, since she knows she will never find it with her own.
