Dolorifuge decides to change her aesthetic.
to be more #edgyandawesome, she starts making her own clothes! specifically she uses dyed leather for most of her dresses and shoes, her first leather works pretty subpar until she makes this hopeye inspired piece. she goes for asymmetry to show off her scales and piercings a little better. she also wears REAL FUR 😳 😳😳😳😳 through recycling fauna that are collateral to colony expansion. she dyes this a little bit too.
Dolorifuge can admit at this point that she's not really in the medical field for the right reasons. it started when she was extremely young and licking her wounds from not being a good soldier, then continued as she desired power and affluence- not necessarily maliciously, but she needed to feel needed if not wanted.
now, she decides to put that to rest so she can focus on what she loves. working in the spa. she loves making cosmetics and using them on others more than herself, seeing people get more comfortable in their skin, seeing them look more healthful under her supervision. there are medical notes to most to her products, but this is much different to her compared to working in the hospital. different in a very beautiful way.
she would absolutely help out in an emergency, though, and carries a first aid kit at all times.
she doesn't exactly go cold, but she does make an active effort to stop caring so much about how others perceive her. it is also notably harder to become a friend to her at this point unless she already had an interest in you, as she closes off from most as a way to prioritize her own personal growth (to be opened up again later down the line). what friends she does have are gravely cherished. Sol needs to have had that early adult scene with her or else romance is locked out for them- though she will still love them deeply if they're close. platonically.
Sol could definitely push her toward befriending Rex and Nomi if their affection is high enough. this would happen regardless, but would be sped up if they did so. it's rather awkward at first, but they'd hit it off into a tentative friendship. Lori is more connected with Nomi than Rex, and seems to stare after them often.
she also calms down a lot with her inferiority complex toward more confident women. it's more of an occasional envy or admiration that she just lets flow- better to feel it than get flighty. she still does keep her distance with Vace and Anemone, but expresses sympathy towards Anemone if they break up.
when it comes to the Sol/Lori dynamic, i can imagine that they could have a few major notes.
1. a romance arc. if Sol doesn't date anybody by the time 18.5, she'll start acting a bit different toward them. there wouldn't be any super grand gestures, but she would ask question to gauge interest. 'what's your type?' 'are you interested in romance?' 'would you want to coparent children? with a hypothetical future partner, that is...' 'what did you say your favorite treat was, again?'
if they flirt with her, the response will be a covert smile, her hearts getting progressively more and more red. this would build up until early pollen when they're 19, where she'd present them some homemade snacks, specialized cosmetics (which she would have given them anyway but shhh), and a question: will you be her partner 🥺
if yes, then expect a kiss on the cheek, then a following shy first kiss on the mouth. if no, then she'll laugh things off and be happy to still be friends.
she's open to polyamory and an open relationship, but in a very 'YOU can be poly/open... but i just want you' kind of way. this will change in the epilogue if Sol is non-monogamous.
2. if Sol looks stressed, she whisks them away to the spa for a day treatment if not a month's. lounge rest months have optional spa content where she offers various massages, aromatherapy, steam treatments, honestly if you can think it she probably does it. she even brews experimental teas to help spa goers relax. they're terribly bitter, but are oddly invigorating.
3. more of a mini-note, but i feel like her being closeted non-monogamous makes plenty of sense. she experienced feeling ostracized because she was accused of cheating, so to her romance is a touchy subject as is. she would have to feel comfortable in herself to actually admit that she'd like multiple partners. naturally, this would happen years into the epilogue, but assurance from a friend or lover would help her along.
4. the elephant in the room. Vace. if Sol is close with Vace, she'll ask why- which will have priority over any romance arc with her. if Sol stays friends with him without his therapy arc or God forbid DATES him, Lori distances herself from Sol. the only exception to this is really his therapy arc, but she's still rather uneasy at the situation.
if Sol helps him cheat and she finds out, then that'll be the first (and in her eyes) hopefully last time she ever has to talk to Anemone, coming at a huge expense of affection between Lol/Sori (#divorcearc).
she doesn't really care whether or not he can change, whether or not he will change. Lori just doesn't want him or anything tainted by him by association around her. especially after she already did so much to make herself feel like she wasn't tainted by association. this is a deal breaker.
Sol can also cheat on her with Vace. it will not be pretty.
5. Sol can tell Lori about the time loop, and their memories. she won't believe them, but she'll believe that they believe it. to her, this seems like them coping with the difficulties of Vertumna- the possible loss of peers, parents, adults, the attacks... she understands pretending to help things make more sense.
she'll be a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear. she doesn't tell anyone else what they have to say, and talks them through the worse of it. if she has any harsh judgments for them due to what they share, she doesn't utter a word.
if Sol is not her lover (or is open to poly and open relationships), she could potentially take on other canon characters as lovers! Tammy, for one, she would happily join her polycule in a route where she's open to that with Sol/just isn't in a pre established monogamous relationship. this would be a very tender relationship for Lori, with a soft sort of devotion that comes from her.
Nomi/Rex/Lori throuple! like how Nomi and Rex have a special, unflinching relationship, if she could foster that with them she would be very happy. she'd have to work through some things, but she would be very happy with them- having a more fixed and creatively inspiring dynamic with Nomi while she stays confident with Rex. she sees a lot of herself with Rex, like a strange mirror image, but with time she's found that she likes what's there.
Lori/Tangent would have a fleeting but impactful relationship. they just are NOT compatible imo- their individual needs demanding more and less from one another than either can guarantee. it could be through an attempt at romance/sexual involvement that they'd find better platonic footing, though, and there's a beauty to that to me!
Anemone/Lori, i can imagine them starting and ending either messy as Hell or starting rough and dinding deeper beauty within one another. this isn't something that Lori is likely to explore though tbfh
when it comes to offspring she wants ONE (1️⃣) pregnancy! she'll go for this whether or not she has a romantic interest in peace endings, and not at all for war and special endings. she will have twins with her same augment (chameleon coolness ;) )
when it comes to the other ocs she doesn't really intrude in how Fritter is raised, even if she doesn't agree with every action taken. Fritter and Lily do both give her cuteness aggression though
