where: back alley of roadside revival
who: @gratified / callum o'rourke
when: two days after the plot drop
The magician... the five of pentacles... reverse three of cups...
Lily frowned as she shook her head and took the cards back, reshuffling her deck, muttering curses under her breath before pulling one more time.
... okay one more time...
... okay one more time...
... okay one more-
She looked up at the sound of the back door of the diner opening, squinting up at the person she was waiting for before going back to the cards.
"Hi, Callum..." She murmured distractedly before leaning forward to peer at the cards before her. "Pancakes today?" She asked, clasping her hands in front of her expectantly, focusing her attentions of her in at the diner. "Extra syrup?"
where: the split rail saloon
who: @thesakeofmotion / carter hammond
when: the day after the plot drop, 12nn
She was so sleepy. So painfully sleepy her head was starting to ache... but she was also so wired from the coffee she had guzzled down this morning with Audrey, alongside the two others she had had before. Now, her body was just confused, decidedly just giving up... and truly the only place she felt safe giving up for a few hours was the Saloon.
So she wheedled her way into the establishment prior to business hours from the back door, yawning as she trudged her way to the bar, settling onto one of the bar stools before plopping her head down on the smooth wood, curls a disarray and eyes half hooded and glazed.
Okay... she's safe now... maybe she can catch a few... small... minutes...
"How are you holding up with everything?" The temperature of the town was incredibly unsettling. It was as if a word or sentence was uttered about the death of the mayor that their sector of Oregon would all crumble at once. The evening on Valentine's Day had been wonderful. Audrey was happy to have gotten out and enjoy herself with others like Lily, only for the night to be nothing more than a mere illusion.
The festivity was the perfect distraction from the underlying realities transpiring all around them. Could they all really be this oblivious? The question now remained, who was trustworthy? Who should they be wary of? Neighbor murdering neighbor? There's never been such disarray since she's gotten to town, and it left Audrey feeling nothing more than uneasy. "I swear all the patients yesterday at the clinic were running conspiracy after conspiracy," she states as she takes a sip of her latte.
Lily shrugged a shoulder as she dumped another sugar packet into her coffee. Truthfully, she felt like she hadn't slept a wink since the night at the Casino. She had uncharacteristically paid her grandparents an unexpected visit, had argued with her Lao Ye on updating all their locks and not staying out too late.
"I don't give a shit about your Friday poker night! No, please just stay inside! Yes I will call more! No I don't need more food!... Okay, yes I'll take another tupperware, but no more after this!" She replayed their conversation over and over again in her mind before finally allowing the benadryl she had downed to take her for a couple of hours.
Now, she was struggling to stay awake, jittery from the caffeine and sugar she downed before leaving her place to meet with Audrey. "Fine. Not like I knew him or anything." She said dismissively before taking a sip.
Ah... needs more sugar.
"Not that this town needed any more bad juju." She muttered before looking up to meet Audrey's eyes. "You though? How have you been holding up? I hope it didn't ruin your night or anything." She asked distractedly.
𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 ⸺ to all ( @dustanddevilsstarters ).
⤷ burning hearts celebration, post plot drop.
evie had perfected the art of belonging without ever quite fitting. montrose carried its legacies like heirlooms, polished and paraded beneath chandelier light, and she stood among them like a borrowed name stitched into the wrong lining. yes, her parents had grown up here, but her mother had fled before memory could root, and evie had been raised on stories that never quite felt like inheritance. the mayor’s death moved through the room like a gust, but it did not strike her chest the way it struck others. she did not know him. she knew of him. there was a difference. still, she reached for the same careful expression she wore each day, wide-eyed and soft around the edges, the harmless girl no one thought to measure twice.
the person beside her was statue-still, unreadable, and evie found the silence unbearable. she tipped her head, letting her voice tremble just enough to pass. “ oh my goodness, ” she breathed, fingers grazing her collarbone as if steadying herself. “ that’s so heartbreaking. what about the poor old man’s family? ” the words floated gently, practiced sympathy wrapped in silk. her gaze flicked sideways, searching for a crack in the other’s composure, curious to see whether grief would surface… or something far more telling.
Lily was finally, finally done. Thank the good fucking lord. Her assigned officer had seemed to give up, eyes rolling to the back of their head before letting her know that they would reach out for any follow ups. She shot them a smile and a promise to pick up the phone before immediately dropping it as their back turned, flipping them off before reaching into her pockets to pull out a much needed stick.
She settled amidst the chaos of the casino before turning to the woman standing next to her. Her eyes narrowed. She couldn't quite place her face, which was... definitely something, considering she felt she knew everyone's faces these days.
"Yeah, it's also insanely bad luck too, you know? Murder holds really shitty energy." Lily shuddered before popping the heart-shaped lollipop in her mouth, eyes fluttering closed as she allowed the sugar to assault her system.
Silence falls between them for a second before Lily cracks an eye open and regards the other with a tilt of her head.
"Lollipop?" She offers, hand extended, palm open with a similar lollipop waiting.
WHERE // Gold Rush Casino & Resort
WITH // OPEN, post plot drop @dustanddevilsstarters
“You question everyone this hard?” Rio fired back, rage burning like low glowing embers in the dark backdrop of his eyes as he stared down the officer in front of him. Like the sheriff had warned, they’d all be questioned, but this felt excessive– it felt like baiting, at least to him. “Or just ex-cons?” He let the question hang between them for a moment, dangling like rope he wasn’t about to shove his neck into. On paper, he might have looked like an easy target– out on parole after fourteen years, presumably with an ax to grind. But Rio wasn’t about to allow that narrative to take any shape or form. “I been out less than a month– haven’t really had much time for murder in between all the bullshit parole meetings and piss tests,” he pressed, clearly on the defensive as he dared another step closer towards the questioning officer. Had Rio not been so passionate about his own freedom, he’d have hardly reacted so strongly. He might have listened to reason, or at least to a distant voice he could scarcely make out behind him, urging him to stand down. But he didn’t, at least not yet. Instead, he stood his ground like he should have done fourteen years ago, “Get your head outta your ass and start lookin’ somewhere that matters.”
Lily blinked at the sudden outburst, the officer who had been questioning her (very badly, might she add) seemed to stop in their tracks as well, eyes wide and pen hovering over their little note pad. Lily cleared her throat before smiling tightly at the officer in question.
"You know what, I would like to... politely echo the sentiments of my friend over there. Uhh... Get your head outta your ass and all that." She waved a fluttering hand with an awkward laugh before lowering her voice. "But seriously, Glenn, I didn't do anything. Feel free to check with my LaoLao, you know the old lady never lets me out of the house." Lily beamed at the officer who let out a defeated sigh and let her go before making a beeline over to Rio and quickly patting him on the back in an attempt to placate him, positioning herself between him and the other officer.
"Alright, alright, listen, I think he's just a little dehydrated. We've been here for what... an hour? Can we pretty please have a water break or something? Right Rio? You'd probably do better with a little water?" She peeked up at him, silently hoping he would just take the tiny out.
( havana rose liu, 28, she/her) You’ve seen LILY QIAN before. Maybe at the bar. Maybe outside the general store. Maybe walking out of somewhere he shouldn’t have been. She's been in TIMBER COVE for her whole life, working as a RECEPTIONIST AT RATTLESNAKE AUTO AND TOW, and carrying herself like someone who knows exactly where she stands in a place where loyalties are complicated. She gives off AN OLD STACK OF VINYL RECORDS, BURNING SAGE and WORN TAROT CARD energy and seems NEUTRAL to the expansion that presses on the nerve of boundary and border — though no one’s quite sure if that’s a moral stance or a survival tactic.
FULL CHARACTER NAME:
Lily Qian
FACE CLAIM:
Havana Rose Liu
AGE & DATE OF BIRTH:
28 / November 8, 1997
PRONOUNS & SEXUALITY:
She/Her and Pansexual
BIOGRAPHY BULLET POINTS
Her fondest memories were made up of moments heavy with cigarette smoke, bright purple nail-polish, the scent of burning sage and the Beatles. Her parents were big on that whole aesthetic, and Lily loved everything about it. She remembered sitting on her father’s lap as her mother danced in the middle of their living room to “Yellow Submarine”, skirts swooshing against her legs, smile bright and wide against the candlelight. Her father would wrap his fully tattooed arms around her and laugh full and loud... and she would feel safe. She would feel loved. She would feel happy. That was home.
Her parents were good people with bad habits, that was how she liked to describe them.
“Keep the car door locked, Lil. Open it only when you see us.” Her mother would tell her, hands on both sides of her face as her father jimmied the lock off the door of a particularly large house. Lily would nod and smile in obedience before watching her parents tip-toe up the cobblestone pathway of other people’s homes, coming back with sacks upon sacks of shiny objects that Lily wasn’t allowed to touch. Then they would drive away and head home, “Hey Jude” playing softly on the radio.
Her parents get caught when she’s around ten years old. She’ll never forget the look on her father’s face as he’s forced to the ground by men with guns, her mother screaming for them not to take her daughter. “She didn’t do anything! She didn’t know anything!” It echoed in her head like a broken record, throat raw as she tried to claw her way to get to them, only to have to watch them leave her behind on the back of a squad car. That was the day her world went off kilter.
Her grandparents take her in and all of a sudden, Lily goes from an easy going kid to a complete and utter nightmare. She runs away more times than her grandparents can count, she struggles to stay in school, and she finds a proclivity for stealing, just to try and find the sense of high her parents seemed to have every time they left her in that car by herself.
"If you keep this up, you'll end up just like your parents. Amounting to nothing." Her grandmother would hiss as she bails her out for the nth time. It hurt her heart to think about it. Her mother's bright smile, her father's deep laugh... their lives were full, and warm, and everything to her.
At twenty eight, Lily continues to promise herself that one day, she'll make it out. She'll pack up her bags and drive as far away from this place as possible... but something always pulls her back. Something always ties her to the ground of this godforsaken place.
One day, though. One day, she will.
CHARACTER TRAITS:
( + ) Eccentric - If there was one thing her parents have ingrained in her system, it was that individuality should be a pillar trait of one's psyche. Be colorful, be loud, be you. Go against the grain and make sure people knew who you were while you did it. Lily was more than happy to comply, of course. She enjoyed bright colors and long nails, ostentatious outfits and odd knick-knacks. Also, prepare to be blessed with sage when you enter the auto-shop, she has a few rolls hidden under her plants.
( + ) Charming - She flourishes at the front desk for a reason. She’s a tad bit of a talker, but surprisingly not the obnoxious kind. Skating the fine line of the law forces you to learn how to talk your way out of things. Because of this, she adapts herself to each person, tickling every nerve for easy charming. When asked how she does it so effortlessly, she jokes that she’s cast a spell on the free mints she gives them.
( + ) Cunning - You don’t get away with stealing every once in a while without having a little meat up in that old noggin. Lily lacked many things. She wasn’t the strongest, wasn’t the best at school, wasn’t the prettiest, but if there was one thing she knew how to do, it was slither her way through situations in a very machiavellian fashion. Be wary of her smile, for it holds more than mirth on many occasions.
( - ) Reckless - Despite her skill in evading trouble, she does little to avoid it altogether. She’s more than reckless with her decisions. She enjoys to steal when upset with someone, and she does so without thinking of the consequences. Her decisions are made almost purely out of emotion and she sees no reason to change that part of herself. It gets her into more trouble than you would think, and sometimes her smile won’t get her out of it.
( - ) Tactless - What gets her in trouble most of the time is her tongue. Why? She can never seem to hold it. What comes into mind is exactly what she says, and it doesn’t matter who she’s talking to. Whatever authority you might have, she doesn’t feel the need to put a filter, and that more than anything may lead to her demise if not careful.
( - ) Manipulative - She knows how to play people, knows how to be the puppet-master when no one expects it from her. She hides behind sweet smiles and carefully picked words, and most of the time, her dirty work is done by someone else because of a quick kiss and a flutter of her eye-lashes.
