[ maia reficco | cis-female | she/her | twenty-two ] —— it’s just another typical week in hawkins i guess — isn’t that right, valerie santos? huh, guess they can’t hear me over the eye of the tiger by survivor playing on their walkman, but it looks like they’re headed to work as florist at pretty petals. did you know val has been in hawkins for one week? yeah, they’ve been described as a bit sarcastic, but i suppose them also being trustworthy outweighs the negative. i’ve also heard people say they remind them of random bursts of spontaneous adventures, the crisp morning of fresh dew on the grass, icecream on a cold raining day, also as a loving breath of fresh... however, that could just be this weeks newest rumor. —— [ cassie, 22, she/her, PST ]
tw: mention of drugs, bullying, alcohol, child neglect
basics:
name: valerie santos hayes
nickname: val, v
age: twenty-two
dob: july 14
occupation: florist
sexual orientation: bicurious/unknown
positive traits: loyal, trustworthy, hard-working
negative traits: sarcastic, stubborn, blunt
length in hawkins: one week
here’s her aesthetics [x]
bio:
🌸 valerie was born and raised in argentina under the name of valerie santos until the age of five when police found the five year old stuck at home by herself malnourished whereas her parents were out doing drugs elsewhere. they were deemed unfit and she was out of their care and fell into the foster system. not long after she was adopted by a white family in the united states. she moved from argentina to massachusetts with her new family -- the hayes.
🌸 since she was still very young, the female couldn’t remember her birth parents all too well. those memories were faded and replaced by her new family, the one that brought her in. growing up in a household of strangers, she grew very shy and quiet. when she started school people noticed that she look nothing like her parents and this resulted in her getting teased and bullied.
🌸 the bullying didn’t stop until she got into high school, that was when she started developing a i don’t give a fuck personality. the shy female that let people step all over her was now long gone, she snapped at people and flipped them off, not really caring about the consequences. that was when she began going by her legal name valerie santos instead of valerie hayes.
🌸 valerie has always been the loner type, she didn’t let people get close to her and she didn’t get close with anyone. the female had the mindset that people always leave no matter what and she just kept to herself. did her own things and just lived her life. the people she hung out with were simply acquaintances, she didn’t consider them as friends. she was just that girl who was free-spirited and went along with things -- most of the type suggesting all the dangerous things.
🌸 when she was a teenager, valerie fell into the wrong crowd and began to abuse drugs and alcohol. it was an easy escape and it was something to make her mind stop thinking. this went on until she graduated high school. her parents found out and punished her for it.
🌸 the punishment being that they were moving.. specifically, moving 15 hours away to indiana. a small town named hawkins. from the moment she stepped into town, she knew something was off about the place. it was dark and mysterious -- even more so than she is.
the days that robin wasn’t working with him were slower days despite the amount of kids coming in. keith and steve never got along and half the time keith worked in the back just because he knew that if worked with steve neither of them would get anything done. steve is flipping through a magazine, his eyes on a few kids going up and down the aisle when he hears someone else come in, his voice is a monotone, “welcome to family video. we still don’t have rentals from august yet.” hawkins was slow getting releases, and he already had a few customers bummed about not having can’t buy me love on the shelves yet.
valerie was walking around town, getting used to everything around. she enters the family video store, just to wander around to see if any movies catch her eye. as the door opens, she’s greeted with a monotone voice causing her to chuckle lightly. crossing her arm over her chest, she licks her lips. “damn, so no dirty dancing either?” she inquires, as she began to walk down one of the aisles. “any movies you have that you recommend?”
❝ hey, madonna, ❞ nancy smiled at the familiar face from the pumpkin patch, albeit now out of costume, the pair looks very different than they did previously. the mall was still bustling with people like always as the window displays changed from ❛ back to school sales ❜ to everything fall related. some stores had even taken out their winter holiday decor out which nancy could definitely make a few comments about. ❝ i actually wanted to ask, are you thinking of rewearing your costume for halloween, too ? i can’t grasp if people are wearing the same thing or hoping to switch it up. ❞
if her eyes weren’t meeting hers as they walked pass one another, she would of thought that she was speaking to someone else. then she realized who it was, princess diana -- the one she met at the pumpkin patch before it all went to hell. “hey, princess diana.” valerie greets with a smile, to reflect that she also remembers the other. she had gone to the mall in hopes of finding a new jacket since fall was coming and temperatures were dropping. licking her lips, she shrugs her shoulders. “i was thinking about rewearing my costume, although if it’s too cold i might have to switch it up. but i think yours is perfect and iconic.”
the first thing that helps monnie feel better after a stressful week is, oddly enough, cleaning. she reorganized some items in her room and even cleaned the shared spaces between her and jason. the only thing left that she needed were some flowers to truly finish off the place. ❝ i recognize you — you work here ? ❞ she asked valerie after she looked around pretty petals for a bit. ❝ what do you recommend for someone just wanting a fresh bouquet in her room. ❞
valerie felt that she was only ever at work, she needs to learn how to stop saying yes whenever her boss questions if she wanted to pick up hours, but she didn’t have much going on in her life, except for her intense research regarding hawkins, but it didn’t require all of her time. most of the time, she just ends up getting confuse and drops everything in frustration. bundling up a bouquet of flowers, she wraps it up before placing them in a vase when she hears the door ring signaling there was a new customer. glancing up, she saw the familiar person. a smile spreads across her lips, “i do, welcome in. how can i help you today?” she greets warmly before glancing around the floral shop. “well, depends... what’s the aesthetic of your room?”
❝ you know what, val — can i call you val ? — i truly think this might be the greatest place to exist. ❞ she wanted to add ❛ besides the skate park near my old house ❜, but hawkins didn’t have a skate park to even compare it to. instead, max walked through the threshold to enter the comic book store. she also bought some records there, but with her machine busted, there was no point in wasting her precious earned bucks. ❝ are you into comics ? they’ve got other stuff, too. ❞
“yeah, go right ahead,” she nods her head -- personally, liking val better than valerie, plus they already seem to be growing close with their hatred for the town that they now live in. following the other through the streets, she allows the redhead to guide her to the so-called greatest place to exist. entering the comic book store, she glances around slightly. a light smile forms across her lips. “i only ever read the spiderman series,” she admits. “i prefer music.”
♡ open starter —— anyone !!
♡ location —— outside the public library !!
it’d been a long, hectic day of work at claire’s — so many, perhaps too many, parents had brought in their babies to get their little ears pierced ( which vickie found odd given the current circumstances in their town, but she wasn’t really one to judge ) and even now, hours after her shift had ended, vickie could hear their screams ringing in her ears. her head was throbbing, her eye kept twitching, and she’d like to scream too. so she decided to walk to the public library, to get some exercise and to hopefully find a new book to use as a distraction from her real life. as she was skipping down the sidewalk, the cool breeze blowing her hair in her face, she got distracted by a puppy on the opposite side of the road and almost didn’t notice she was about to run into someone. thank god for peripheral vision. “ oh, crap ! “ she stopped just in time, right before she could crash into the other. “ i’m so sorry. i didn’t see you. well, i didn’t see you at first. and then i saw you out of the corner of my eye and that’s why i stopped. i’m so glad neither of us got hurt ! “ she sucked in a sharp breath and snorted. “ sorry. my mouth is like a darn train sometimes. it just never stops moving. “
valerie had finished her shift early, letting one of her coworkers take the rest of her shift. she needed a break from it, it was draining her the amount of hours she was putting in, mainly because she didn’t have too many friends to hangout with, so she put all her energy in working. she decides to go to the library in hopes of doing more research about the weirdness of hawkins. she was busy on her phone, a text distracting her as she walked until she almost practically ran into someone causing her to halt, almost dropping her bag completely. licking her lips, she gasps slightly before a small smile forms across her lips. “no, it’s totally my fault -- i wasn’t paying any attention either.” she admits, readjusting her bag that was on her shoulder. “i’m glad that neither one of us got hurt either, could’ve caused a big headache if we bummed into one another.” she chuckles lightly before shaking her head. “no worries, i’m valerie by the way.”
mike had a massive headache that he was working through. his head was bowed, running a hand through his hair, trying on concentrating not absolutely losing his shit. he had too much on his mind and not much sanity left. by the ti,e that he hears the bell ring to remind him that, yes, he was still at work, he sighs, raising his head and seeing someone familiar. he watches her walk up to the counter and he plasters a fake smile. “i’m having a goddamn blast,” he looks at one of the kids that’s not so patiently waiting his turn on dig-dug. “wanted to see the absolute shit show that’s the arcade for yourself, huh?”
at this point, mike had been the one person that she was truly really familiar with in the shit town. and she found some sort of comfort in that, even if he comes off as close-offish. making friends in a small town where everyone seems to be acquainted already wasn’t as easy as it seem to be in the movies. “oh, i bet you are,” she glances around the arcade once again before her eyes fell upon the other once more. “sure did, wanted to try my luck on these games, beat these kids and walk away with the prize that they so dearly want. maybe, you can help me achieve it by rigging these games for me.” she laughs, as she drums her hands on the counter slightly. “how much longer until you’re off?”
The days in which Lily was at work was feeling like a parallel universe to her. None of it seemed real, but she was able to use the copy machine and stuff for her posters. However, there was a part of her that liked the break from her home. It was a mental rest she didn’t know she needed or even that she was getting. She was actually doing some work when someone came over and needed assistance. She nodded and moved around the desk. “We do have some. They were able to save it, luckily from the…” She stopped herself and tensed a little as she was about to talk about the earthquake. “It, um, doesn’t have recent things, so if you’re looking for that, you may want to see if the newspaper has their archives. We haven’t gotten replacement copies just yet. Or new ones.” She said as she led the way towards the section. “What is your research on?”
ever since valerie entered town after the disaster, it seems like weird things kept happening. she had a weird feeling rush through her body whenever she see or hear things -- such as the pumpkins all getting ruined within nightfall? it could of very much been a bad batch, but val felt that there were more to it. as the lady in the front was willing to help her, she grins slightly knowing that maybe if she got down to the history of disasters, she could pinpoint things. her notebook in hand, she follows her towards the section taking mental note to search the newspaper archives later on. “it’s just on hawkins history and the following disasters that occurred. not being a native and all, the professor decided to give me that topic.” she easily covers her lie with a smile. “have you been in hawkins for a while?”
They should their head. “It’s okay. Really.” They assured her and looked around again before back at the woman next to them. “It’s good to see.” Though, El had an idea that everyone was there to probably eat, yes, but also to come and talk about the black sludge. It was all they could think about and they wondered if everyone else was the same way. Eleven adjusted in their seat again and took a deep breath before smiling. “It’s nice to meet you too, Val.” They said. “Um… I guess my whole life? But I did live in California for a few months.” They said honestly. “What about you?” Val could’ve been a native for all they knew. Just because they never saw them before didn’t mean anything.
she was actually enjoying some sort of company. it was getting lonely, going to work everyday and then heading back home. it felt like she didn’t have much of a social life recently. “it is,” she nods her head with a soft smile. coming in, she heard many whispers about what happened at the pumpkin patch, how it could happen in one night was a mystery to her. the whole town seem to be a mystery to her. listening to them, she nods her head. “oh, california? how was that?” she questions, she been to california probably once in her entire life. she remembered her parents bringing her to disneyland when she was younger. “i’ve been here for about... a month.” she answers, as she took a sip of her water. “since you’ve lived here all your life, has hawkins always been super strange?”
“ we’re not looking for anything in particular, we’re just shopping. ” sophia shrugged her shoulders, looking down at the bags on her arms before stopping in her spot and turning to look at valerie. “ or, at least, i am. i know you’re not much of a shopping person, but surely you see something in the mall that interests you, like, at least a little bit. ” she sent the other a small smile, waiting for her answer.
“oh,” valerie states simply as she looks over towards the other. “i thought we were on a mission to hunt down a gift or something.” she admits, sheepishly. shrugging her shoulders slightly, she glances around for a split second before turning to the other. “well i do need a new sweater. it’s getting colder. it never hurts to have more sweaters right?”
walking out of the three squares with a to-go cup in her hand, monnie cherished the coffee and inhaled deeply. the worst of days were when the place had crumbled and took over a year to rebuild. now ? monnie would stop every morning for at least a coffee, if not breakfast to-go. ❝ i wouldn’t worry too much about that, ❞ she mentioned to someone staring at the newspapers stacked by the street for sale. the headline read exactly what was plastered on the news about the pumpkins decaying. ❝ same thing happened in 1984. i know nothing about farming, but it appears the land might just be shit. go figure. ❞
she was on her way to get coffee and a snack, something to wake her up a bit, get her day started. valerie was on her way there, when something caught her eye -- more specifically the stack of newspapers reading the headline regarding the pumpkins decaying. she wonders what could of possibly went wrong overnight and it could very much be the weirdness of the town. hearing a voice, it startles her slightly as she turns to the person. “does it happen a lot?” she asks, surely she knew nothing about farming either, but it all can’t be a coincidence, can it?
closed starter for lily @lilysortega !
location: library
“hello,” valerie states as she enters the library, heading straight to the counter to the librarian. “do you think you can help assist me?” she had made it her personal mission to find out what exactly was going down in hawkins and what better way than going to the library? she was sure they had some sort of record. “do you by any chance have any information on hawkins history?” she inquires with a soft innocent smile. “it’s for research for one of my courses,” the female clearly lies, hoping the other wouldn’t notice.
closed starter for dani @vcrgas !
location: hawkins mystical designs
it was her first time getting a tattoo and she must admit, she was nervous. even though it was something small on her forearm, she still wasn’t too sure. valerie had already signed the wavier and any thoughts of backing out was soon gone. “it doesn’t hurt too bad, right?” she inquires as she lets out a small breathy humorless chuckle.
“Thank you.” Eleven said before sitting down once they could and took a deep breath. “It’s busy today.” They pointed out and kinda got anxious. They usually did fine in a crowd if they were around someone they knew, but sometimes they got nervous on their own like this. Like someone would spot them and someone would take them away again. And that thought was coming around again as everything else was happening in town. They put on a smile, though, as someone handed them a menu and they turned to the girl next to them. “I’m Jane, by the way. Jane Hopper.” Eleven introduced herself and hoped that talking would get their nerves to go away.
“no need to thank me, it should’ve known better than to place my bag there when the place is so packed.” valerie states brushing it off as she smiles towards them. her eyes fell back towards the menu in front of her, not really knowing what she was in the mood for, she was just hungry. licking her lips, she nods. “it is! i haven’t seen it this busy in a while.” normally, val wouldn’t engage in conversation with people, she would keep to herself, however as she glances back over towards them they sort of looked uncomfortable and out of place, like someone could harm her at any moment, so she continues the conversation. “nice to meet you, jane. i’m valerie, but most people call me val. have you lived here in hawkins for a while?” she finds herself questioning, wondering if the person seated besides her could give her any sort of insight on hawkins and all the creepy stuff that happens.
closed starter for sophia @scphiafms !
location: mall
“what exactly are we looking for again?” valerie inquires, feeling like she been walking through the mall forever -- most of the time she was just window shopping, keeping the other company. leaning against the rail slightly, she inhales, “i don’t know if i’m much of a shopping person,” she admits before looking up at her with a slight chuckle.
closed starter: for mike @upsidedownism !
location: arcade
valerie decided to check out the arcade after her closing up at the floral shop. it was still early about seven o’clock when she enters. bright lights flash through the arcade and she was instantly hit with the sound of a children screaming. she was ready to turn back and leave when she spotted a familiar person behind the counter. a smile forms across her lips as she made way towards the other, who just looked miserable. “you sure look like you’re having a blast.” the female teases as she leans against the counter.
it’s a slow day, and they’ve gotten an open box of cinnamon toast crunch open. they’ve been trying to flick one into their mouth for the past twenty minutes but have been pretty much getting sugar all over their face. they sigh, leaning back looking at who they could bother and seeing someone walking by. they smile, and say, “i have a proposition,” they dig their hands into the cereal box, “if you can catch this with your mouth no hands i’ll give you the box for free,” granted, shiv had eaten half of it already, it was already unpaid for, but details. “seems like a pretty good deal to me considering the prices went up.” bradley’s big buy supermarket would always have ridiculous prices, it doubled since the earthquake but people loved their branded foods even if shiv found it a little ridiculous.
valerie enters the supermarket in hopes of picking up some sort of dinner for herself. the store was rather quiet, normally it was packed and she assumed all the mothers and running kids came in during the afternoon during her shift at the floral shop. as she walks by someone, she hears their voice causing her eyes to shift from her phone towards them. eyebrows scrunched up slightly as she hears that they’re offering a proposition. “now, why would i want a box of open cereal?” she teases, before pointing towards her face. “you have a whole bunch of cinnamon on your face.” after a couple minutes she shrugs her shoulders. “what the heck, alright i’ll try it... but if i choke i’m totally blaming you.” when they mentioned that prices gone up, valerie rolls her eyes slightly shaking her head. “fucking inflation.”
