how sawyer had been coping with the virus could be summarised into three words : not at all. it’d kept her attention for a few weeks time but the slow progression combined with her busy schedule caused a fall off the wagon. nothing ever seemed to change and so check - ins became fewer and farther between … until now.
❛ i’m serious ! i’m cutting out all meat … i mean, i’ve always wanted to become a vegetarian anyways, this was just the final, totally unexpected push. ❜
there’d been ANOTHER attempt five or so years ago and she’d barely made it to lunch. who’d known deli meats were such a vital part to her every day ?
❛ but when, and i say when because i will, i start crying for chicken tenders this time next week … i give you permission to slap me. right across the face. hard as you can. ❜
♡
venison was not quite at the top of anne’s dietary pyramid, or really any part of it. but she, like sawyer, had decided that perhaps it was best to avoid meat altogether just to be safe. though already it was plain to see that anne was adjusting a little easier than her friend. she was, of course, amused by her dramatics. smile tugging up the corners of her lips as she chose to push the reason for the change to the back of her mind. outright chuckling when sawyer insisted on punishment should she lapse and beg for fried chicken in a week. “ i don’t think you know what you’re asking for, i can give a pretty mean slap if i have to, ” she teased, not that she could even picture herself slapping sawyer with all her might. if circumstances were different maybe she would suggest that she wean herself off instead of going cold turkey, but in this instance she understood the urgency. “ i think you’re underestimating yourself, ” she said instead, “ come on, what’s your favourite food? –that doesn’t have meat, obviously, ”
“Yes, I am,” she agreed without missing a beat. She was sweet, thoughtful and generous, not enough people gave her credit for that though they should and perhaps they would if Anne decided to share the origin of her new Body Shop lotion with them. Imogen hoped that she would, Anne was good like that. She said a lot of nice things about people, regardless of whether they had truly earned them or not.
“No,” she spat out just a little quickly, before promptly covering her tracks, “I already had to try a little for myself in the store, I couldn’t resist,” she assured the other girl, cooly lying through her teeth as she picked up Anne’s hand and smelt the back of it. Mostly to distract the other girl from offering her the lotion again but also to remind herself of the scent she’d palmed off before Imogen had to describe it to the doctors in the E.R. while Anne was laid out tits up, foaming at the mouth and covered in sores on a gurney. She let go of Anne’s hand and wiped the palm of her own on the coarse surface of her Levis, just for good measure, “-I want it to remind me of you,” she explained, “I’ll always think of you when I smell it,” she assured the other girl warmly and if it didn’t kill or seriously disfigure Anne in any way, it would be a nice sentiment she thought.
♡
though anne could sometimes see through imogen’s deceptions, now was not one of those times. the gift had pushed those rose coloured glasses right up the bridge of her nose and leaving her at a disadvantage. instead of realising the lie, she smiled. lips pressed together and letting imogen take her hand, completely convinced that this was all a very sweet gesture on her part. “ i’ll wear it all the time then, ” anne pledged, knowing it would fit well into the collection of scents she already surrounded herself with. vanilla shampoo, lavender laundry detergent, and flowery perfumes were all anne milton staples.
“ what do you want for dinner? ” she questioned, as she pushed herself up. partially she was moving on from the conversation about the lotion, mostly she was enacting her plan of a small act of kindness to pay imogen back. “ we could do some roast veggies or something? ” she suggested, “ i got a bunch the other day, ” she added. she hadn’t been regularly eating venison before the announcement, but it had made her wary of most meats if not all of them– and made her very glad she’d gotten to the store before the announcement and been able to get some fresh food.
he should be making rounds : doing more with his day than lounging in the plaza’s one and only cosmetics store. it smelled nice. better than ravel. and past times for that matter … all that junk really was stinking up the place, offering a knock - off scent similar to the one of his old nan’s house. paternal, not maternal. nothing wrong agnesia bianchi’s natural musk. sort of like lavender. but if grown in a floridian retirement home.
❛ i wouldn’t get that lotion if i were you … ❜
nobody asked him, did they. but if he wasn’t to offer his usual services — serve and protect lowe’s — then he might as well branch out. examining his other options, if you would.
❛ it made my pop break out like crazy. got his face looking like a raspberry’s asscheek. ❜
♡
brows furrowed a little as a word of advice came from behind her. usually sales associates weren’t the kind to sneak up on people, or tell people not to buy their products– though that she assumed was a part of an elaborate up-sell. but then when head swung around she was met with mall security and she was a little taken aback. she held the lotion for a moment longer before story of his pop’s reaction to it made her put it back with an awkward “ okay, duly noted. ” glancing into the shop a second to make sure no worker was listening in before she looked back. “ so, what would you get then? ”
After being informed that the product from The Body Shop was inclined to making people break out in hives, most people would have abandoned the tube of raspberry pomegranate lotion then and there. Imogen, however, didn’t care for being given instruction and so in an effort to be the unwavering antagonist, she’d purchased the very same lotion just to demonstrate her penchant for defiance.
She didn’t want to break out in hives but she didn’t want the lotion to go to waste either, not when she’d spent a whopping four dollars on the tube. So, as such, she decided to give it to Anne Milton as a gift, hoping that the favor would be returned at some point, though hopefully not with the gift of something that caused painful breakouts.
“Milton,” she announced, forcing her way into the other girl’s bedroom without bothering to knock or warn of her arrival in advance in anyway, “I have a gift for you,” she explained, offering the lotion, still in the tattered plastic bag she’d been handed at the check out, receipt and all. “You’re very welcome,” she offered before receiving a thank you, “The smell reminded me of you and I thought, who in my life deserves soft and supple, fruity-raspberry skin more than Anne Milton?” she’d come up with that one on the spot but she thought it was reasonable enough, Anne always smelt pleasant, fruity, florally, sometimes like vanilla. Imogen was rather fond of the fact.
♡
hearing something outside caused anne to pause the book she was reading as she lazed out on her bed. she was about to pass it off as simply king messing around, eyes dipping back to the man from st. petersburg when imogen appeared. the only warning given being her surname said as she appeared, making it a useless warning by default. but all the same anne greeted with a smile and a cheerful “ helloo, ” as she sat up and placed book beside her, pages down so she wouldn’t lose her place.
head tilted at her second announcement, “ oh? ” she asked playfully, though moments later leaning forward to pluck the bag from her hand. landing back on her bed with a little thump, she reached in and was delighted to find a small tub of lotion. a receipt too that she politely ignored, as one did with presents. “ oh my god– thank you, ” she said, looking up and holding it to her chest a moment to show how thankful she was, completely unawares of the horror story that had caused imogen to purchase such a thing.
she lowered it again to investigate the tub a little more as imogen continued. incredibly pleased with the scent selection. deciding that perhaps imogen knew her better than she gave her credit– though she would have thought that with just about any scent that her friend had decided upon. “ you’re too sweet, ” and anne milton was arguably the only person on the planet to say such a thing about her old classmate and mean it. she twisted it open and lifted it to her nose, again, completely delighted. “ it smells so good, ” she hummed, dipping a finger into the tub and rubbing a little of it onto the back of her hand. “ what is the world going to do when i tell everyone how secretly thoughtful you are? ” she teased, smile on her lips as she lifted her hand to take in the scent again. then offering the tub out to the other “ did you want a little? ” she offered, remaining totally unaware of the situation.
☢ — ( LILI REINHART, CIS WOMAN, SHE/HER ) Trading in their scrunchies for gauze bandage rolls might not come easy for ANNE MILTON. This twenty six year old midwife brings medical knowledge, quick thinking and ex-gymnast fitness to the table … but their softness and unwillingness to kill could drag the group down. And while their nurturing nature might raise group morale, their over-thinking might give them a few enemies. That’s the last thing anyone needs right now. Hopefully, in the apocalypse movie that’s now their life, this BLEEDING HEART will make it to the end credits. ( SAM, 23, SHE/HER, AEST )
OOC.
hello m’ladies, m’gents, and m’neithers my name is sam and this is written at either 1am or 5:30am because im australian and an idiot so pls forgive if there are any super dooper obvious spelling mistakes. anyways some fun facts: i’m an ex film student that now works in a pet store. i’m a whore for ari aster but i hope he goes to therapy or else i think he desperately needs to.
i’ve played a few iterations of anne before but never something like this and i am so, so, so excited. i will probably never speak in the group chat because i have Social Anxiety(TM) and i am Intimidated By All Of You(TM) but i swear i am friendly pls come talk to me lmao
STATS.
full name: anne marie milton
best known as: anne
age: twenty six
occupation: midwife/registered nurse at a public hospital
born and raised in fort elm, she’s the middle child of three with an older sister and a younger brother. the three were raised mainly by their mother after their father passed fighting in the vietnam war when all the children were relatively young
as a result anne has a mother complex. idk if thats a thing but im making it one. she mothers everyone and feels like needs to look after everyone she knows, protect them, help them. hence the obvious move into the nursing/midwifing career
growing up she was pretty popular, like she’s friendly and charming and then on top of that a hot blonde that did gymnastics and cheerleading what do u want from me. was also an over achiever and perfectionist– has severely calmed down since she was in high school but i think she is still a perfectionist at heart like come on she’s a virgo
she sometimes comes off as fake but istg she is that much of a people pleaser. will try to be friends with everyone and obv has huge mom friend/big sister energy
believes in giving everyone a shot and it takes a lot of fucking her over for her to decide she doesn’t like you but even then if u came to her and said u had changed once she’d be like OK HERE U GO ANOTHER CHANCE LUV U
a big romantic/emotional whore. loves love but always feels like she’s letting people down/not doing enough in relationships so ends up breaking them off before they go too far. and then gets in another relationship fairly quickly bc she just be like that
also giving her a labrador and u cant stop me xx
WANTED CONNECTIONS.
friends: dear god please be her friend she will do anything for u. would love friends from high school, maybe people that didn’t like her/the people she hung out with in high school and they have since become friends, bad influence friends (anne will mother extra hard but also get drunk around), ex-romances turned friends, toxic friendships that should have ended by now but havent, anne would legit try and make friends with rocks if she could so literally anyone could be her friend
romance ended ugly: ok i want one angsty thing sue me im human. the relationship that went too far before anne ended things so when she eventually did it hurt more and seemed more out of no where and anne prob got defensive and mean solely so they wouldn’t fight for it but still prob has so much love for them bc idk yall she got some issues anyways gimme 🤲
hook ups, ex-romances, roommates, people who dislike her (maybe someone she dislikes back but we would truly have to talk about it and figure out a juicy plot bc it takes a lot), party friends, dead ass anything lets go girls