𝗠𝗬 𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦 — 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙏𝙃 ; a mumu penned by g . aest . she / her . please dni unless part of zipcodehq .
PARI DHAR ( sobhita dulipala ) . 36 y/o . forensic specialist . A STUDY IN . . . cursed loved ones , solitude , wrath , revenge , thinking someone might come back for you .
LEVI KEENE ( thomas weatherall ) . 26 y/o . filmographer . A STUDY IN . . . being behind the camera , putting others first , compassion , growing wallflowers , raving about mis en scene .
you wouldn’t expect someone like [PARI DHAR], a [36]-year-old [FORENSIC SPECIALIST], to turn heads walking into the gas station on main, but there’s something about them that makes you look twice. maybe it’s the [extra long toe pointed heels] tracking in dust from the outskirts, or the sharp ringtone blaring [army dreamers by kate bush] when their phone lights up. they say their favorite movie is [the virgin suicides] and they’ve got the kind of face (think [sobhita dulipala]) that locals swear they’ve seen before. when pressed, they describe themselves in fragments: [an empty heart that hasn't thudded in years, crescent shaped fingernail marks, smudged-almost-smoky eyeliner, rotting brown apple cores].
𝘍𝘈𝘊𝘛𝘚 .
full name : pari dhar
nicknames: doesn't like them
birthday and age : 3rd july 1968 . 36 y/o.
height : 5'7
family : sister : dead . mum and dad : dead . fiancee : dead .
relationship to irwinville : moved to irwinville when she was about 8 with her family . they'd heard murmurs that the school system was good there , and her parents ( 2 immigrants ) had high hopes . continued to live in irwinville into her 20s, but moved to chicago when she was 26 . lived between chicago and irwinville from her sister's disappearance ( ‘97 ) until ’03 when she decided to move back to irwinville permanently.
sexuality : bisexual
distinct features : dark pigmented skin around her eyes , red-henna style tattoo down her spine .
mannerisms : avoids eye contact , usually tries to multi-task while she's talking to you , says ‘ hmm ’ or ‘ mmm ’ a lot .
style : frilly layered tops , deep v's and halternecks . dress pants or long skirts - rarely dresses . dangly earrings , and chunky gold indian bangles .
inspo : dark willow ( buffy the vampire slayer ) , theo crain ( haunting of hill house ) , clementine ( the walking dead game ) , camille preaker ( sharp objects ) , rosalie hale ( twilight )
what you've heard around town : “ poor thing . . . her entire family's gone and it's just her . maybe i should bring ‘round a casserole “ ” never smiles or makes eye contact . makes you wonder if she had . . you know . . anything to do with anything . “ ” such a shame . that family . . . used to be so so vibrant and fun . i still remember her and her sister running amok in the grocery store , giggling . “ ” i know we shouldn’t say it , because yeah , she's had a shit time . but she kinda is a bitch . like that face ? sheesh . never smiles . "
𝘈𝘉𝘖𝘜𝘛 .
001 . MAINLY BORN AND RAISED IN IRWINVILLE . pari doesn't remember much of a life without the town . her parents and her sister , nithya , were a loud and vibrant household . their parents were usually begging the two girls to keep it down .
002 . NITHYA AND PARI BICKERED LIKE NOTHING ELSE . those two sisters who hurled ‘ bitch ! ’ at each other often , but then would link arms and coo over how cute a shade of lipstick was . would steal each others clothes , pull each other's hair . but always had a soft spot for each other . very much the ‘ i bully her , but nobody else can ’ vibes .
003 . DEATH FIRST CAME FOR THE DHAR'S IN 1980 . pari's grandparents died in quick succession of each other , leaving pari's mother whirling for a sense of purpose and not knowing who she was . the family traveled back to india for the ceremonial goodbye's , and it was the first time pari saw a dead body ( it wouldn't be the last ) .
004 . DEATH , MYSTERY AND DEAD BODIES BEGUN TO INTEREST PARI . pari enshrouded herself in true crime , mystery , and detective fiction . she loved a procedural ( when law and order : svu would come out later , it would become one of pari's favourite tv shows ) . the fascination made her want to become a police officer ( quickly got disenfranchised by this thought , though ) , then a criminal profiler ( got bored by this ) , before landing on forensic science . pari spent a lot of her teens acting like the nancy drew of the neighbourhood , creating mystery where there wasn't one .
005 . SLIGHTLY ANNOYING , TALKATIVE , BUT WELL INTENTIONED . that's how a lot of pari's teachers found her . she was the kind to put her hand up and say ‘ but miss ! ’ and cause everyone else to groan . she was enthusiastic , but impatient . she got on a lot of people's nerves for this reason . a bit of a teacher's pet , and a lot of a nerd .
006 . A SINKING FEELING WHEN SHE REALISES THE MYSTERIES SHE LOVES ARE BEGINNING TO HAPPEN IN IRWINVILLE . pari was always somewhat detached from cases and her studies . she likes working in forensics and didn't think anything of it - until mayor charles bennett was found dead . she was too green to work his case ( it was locked down ) , but it made her twitchy and nervous . irwinville and forensics didn't feel the same anymore .
007 . MORE THINGS STARTED TO GO WRONG . . . ogawa shiori is found dead . her father's brother dies . her mother's best friend dies . suddenly , pari finds herself surrounded by death . it causes anxiety and panic within her and she considers changing specialty fields . there's an impending sense of doom within her . instead , pari realises she has to leave the town . it feels like walls are closing in on her , so . she finds a home in chicago .
008 . WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SISTER ? chicago was fine to pari . it was much bigger , more vast . but it moved quickly in a way that meant pari was always busy at work . then , in 1997 , she gets the phone call she was always somewhat bracing for : her sister has gone missing . nobody knows where she is , or what happened . pari flies back to irwinville and tries to beg to comb for evidence . she's denied .
009 . PARI KNOWS HER SISTER ISN'T DEAD . she's sure of it as days turn into weeks , turn into months . my sister is not dead . my sister did not run away , she repeats to herself like a mantra every night . her parents are less sure of the fact . they grieve nithya , openly . plead for information to the police . to anyone who'll listen . they plead directly to nithya to come home , please come home .
010 . RETURNING TO CHICAGO FOR . . . WHAT ? [ CANCER TW ] pari knows she can't stay inside tiny irwinville , so she flies back to chicago . she is restless . insomnia riddled . practically manic trying to turn over any leaf she can to find information about her sister and what happened . and then , a couple years later , she gets the phone call that her mother has advanced colonic cancer . its moving quickly . there's not much they can . will you please come to irwinville ?
011 . YES , YES . OF COURSE YES . pari frantically packs what she can , and flies back to her hometown . but it doesn't matter . and it's too late . she arrives to not one , but two dead parents . her mother died relatively quickly and easy . her father's car spun out while he was driving to the hospital . both died thinking the other was alive . it is the worst pain pari has ever experienced .
012 . AT THE FUNERALS , PARI SEARCHES FOR HER SISTER . she knows if she was out there , nithya would stop at nothing to attend their parent's funerals . but she isn't there . pari tries to refuse the cold feeling that something has happened to her sister . . . and then , a few weeks after her parent's death , an audio tape is found .
013 . IT'S THE WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD AND A NAIL IN THE COFFIN . the released audio proves that somebody did something to nithya , and the police never did anything about it . rage , hot and lava-like , fills pari . her grief makes way to one thing and only one thing : anger . vengeance . spitfire . the people responsible for hurting her sister will pay , yes . but so will everyone else who failed her . and that includes the police . that includes anyone who reported falsely . that includes anyone who got in the way . pari will come for them all .
014 . AM I CURSED ? the question begins to rattle around in pari's brain . why is everyone around her dead , except for her ? she tries to map it all out . to see if anything is connecting . to see if maybe she did this . by being too interested in true crime , has she cursed herself to repeat the same life ? pari continues to live in chicago , but her mind cannot release irwinville , nithya or anything else . she listens to the audio of her sister over a thousand times , trying to see if she can find anything , or decipher anything . invests in pi's , audio specialists . anything . anyone . please , won't they help her ?
015 . PARI TRIES TO MOVE FORWARD . but she can't . she hermits herself . work becomes worried about her . it gets to a breaking point where she finally seeks psychological help , before she completely blows up her life . with the help of therapy , she begins able to bring herself down from 100 . to self soothe . to relax . she returns to work , is able to look at crime scenes in a normal way , goes out for drinks with colleagues . she even falls in love.
016 . BUT LOVE WAS NEVER ON THE CARDS FOR PARI . [ DEATH TW ] no surprise to anyone , least of all pari . . . her fiancee dies in january 2003 . aneurysm . pari knew it was all too good to be true . knew that people shouldn't get close to her , because they all suffer the same fate . the death of her fiancee feels like a calling card . a beacon . something tells her that it's time to go back to irwinville , but properly this time . she packs up everything and leaves chicago . and then 3 months later . . . flynn means is found dead .
017 . FAR BEYOND WHAT YOU REMEMBER . pari is not able to be vibrant , fun , silly and talkative anymore . she is far more reserved . kinda odd . keeps people at a distance . her favourite topic is her sister's disappearance . she can be borderline rude and pushy about the entire thing and trying to find information . lowkey , she's kinda glad this flynn guy is dead because it means new interest in her sister's case , too . which means , finally . . finally . . pari might get some answers .
you wouldn’t expect someone like [LEVI KEENE], a [26]-year-old [FILMOGRAPHER], to turn heads walking into the gas station on main, but there’s something about them that makes you look twice. maybe it’s the [hightop black converse] tracking in dust from the outskirts, or the sharp ringtone blaring [changes by tupac] when their phone lights up. they say their favorite movie is [memories of murder] and they’ve got the kind of face (think [thomas weatherall]) that locals swear they’ve seen before. when pressed, they describe themselves in fragments: [ink stained fingers that tremble as they put in the next cartridge of film, easy going smiles with his hands stretched back and neatly folded behind his head, a treehouse that he's too tall for now, sitting alone by the pool while his friends dance inside]
𝘍𝘈𝘊𝘛𝘚 .
full name : levi george keene
nicknames: leevs , LK , keener , leev . kinda anything
birthday and age : 22nd august 1978 . 26 years old .
height : 5'11 but always hunched
family : parents alive . not divorced , but he wishes they were . lots of cousins , aunts , uncles etc
relationship to irwinville : has always lived here , but grew up visiting australia for 2 months of every calendar year as a kid . moved to LA when he was 19 and visited irwinville a few times here and there , but is now back until the foreseeable future .
sexuality : bi - curious , leans towards femme presenting
distinct features : dimples when he smiles , silver banded ring on his index finger , faded ( shitty ) smiley face tattoo on the fleshy inside of his right palm .
mannerisms : says dude a lot . probably has undiagnosed adhd . can't maintain a long silence . sarcastic and borderline sassy when pushed / prodded .
style : layered shirts ( long sleeved under a tee ) . baggy jeans . think chad michael murray in s1 of one tree hill , but aim slightly lower . colourful + bright patterned sweaters . anything with aboriginal art on it .
inspo : peeta mellark (the hunger games ) , stiles stiliski ( teen wolf ) , craig manning ( degrassi the next generation ) , hot priest ( fleabag) , grizz ( the society ), caleb rivers ( pretty little liars ) , steve harrington ( stranger things ) , james ( derry girls )
yearbook quotes : “ thnx 4 taking my sweet 16 bday picz!! they were rad “ “ levi text or call me sometime !!!!!! ” “ broooooo , next week 6pm @ alibi . pull up . ” “ have a nice summer ” “ srry we didn't get a chance to talk much :( ur rlly cute ” “ u saved my ass on that end of yr final in soph year . THNX U THNX U THNX U !!! ”
𝘈𝘉𝘖𝘜𝘛 .
001 . BORN AND RAISED IN IRWINVILLE , although his mother's side of the family is back in australia - levi has visited the country often ( every year , for about 1-2 months ) . because of it , he has a slight australian accent at times and says a few ‘ australian’ - isms
002 . LEVI'S DAD HAD HOPES LEVI WOULD BE A HUGE SPORTS BRO , or ‘ dude bro ’ / ‘ frat bro ’ . imagine his disappointment when levi instead was the kinda guy who sat in a dark room and watched movies on film .
003 . THROUGHOUT SCHOOL , LEVI WAS TALKATIVE AND CHARMING . he could make friends with a tree . adults , teachers , everyone .
004 . LEVI LOVES MOVIES , FILM , PHOTOGRAPHY . everything under the sun . if letterboxd existed in 2004 , he'd be doing numbers .
005 . GENERALLY CANNOT WITHSTAND LONG OR AWKWARD SILENCES . will fill them with anything and everything , usually a random fact that he finds fascinating .
006 . GOT INVITES TO MOST PARTIES , and was generally the photographer . could put a smile on most faces , could capture candids he'd explore for hours afterwards . while not a huge partier himself , he was more of an observer of people . not used to being the centre of the attention , in fact , usually despises it . he prefers melting in the background where / when he can .
007 . TRIED TO BE THE GLUE FOR A LOT OF THINGS . AND THE PEACEKEEPER . levi's life experiences can generally be described as ‘ oh , that guy ’ . he's been the peacekeeper in his parent's marriage ( a lot of arguing ) , and the peacekeeper of group projects , and . . the peacekeeper of his friend group . specifically with flynn . levi loves his friends more than anything . after high school , he was the one who tried to stay in contact . who tried to organise group calls . it wasn't easy and it wasn't always reciprocated . after a while , levi stopped trying as much .
008 . FLYNN WAS . . . SOMETHING ELSE . flynn and levi often butted heads . flynn had the wild ideas , levi was the one often shooting them down for the sake of keeping peace , not upsetting anyone , or not rocking the boat . flynn was the complete opposite . in many ways , levi looked at flynn as a younger brother with a wild, rebellious streak .
009 . WENT TO UNIVERSITY IN LA . for the last almost-7-years, he was over there , trying to figure out who he was , away from people , away from his friends . away from just ‘ that guy with the camera ’ .
010 . MADE A MONTAGE FILM ABOUT IRWINVILLE . a24 woulda been knocking on his door for his short film ( think eighth grade , didi , mid90s etc ) . while levi was known as the camera dude around town , he actually found true love in filming . it was stupid stuff at first , like skate tricks , parties , other shit he saw around LA . but then he created a montage of him and his friends , and their experiences in irwinville . a town shrouded in mystery and intrigue . he submitted it for a local film festival , and it became a hit . he wasn't expecting anything from it but people loved it . loved the aesthetic . loved the nostalgia . it wasn't really about anything , yet it had that je na sais quoi that people liked . it was unexplainable .
011 . LEVI'S BEEN TRYING TO RECREATE SOMETHING SPECIAL IN FILM WORLD SINCE . but he's stuck in a creative slump . he kinda has no idea what he's doing anymore and kinda feels like a fraud ( big imposter syndrome ) .
012 . FLYNN DYING SHOOK LEVI TO HIS CORE . although not a big emotions guy , the death of flynn rocked levi's world . he came back to irwinville for the funeral and is hit with nostalgia , longing , yearning . a sense that something isn't right . that he doesn't belong anymore . his house doesn't feel like a home . he doesn't know how to present himself back to this town that watched him grow up for the majority of his life .
013 . HE CANNOT LOOK AT THE PAST ANYMORE . specifically , photos . film . nothing . he's shoved it all in a box and kinda hates to be reminded of it now . a lot of his old shots and film were of flynn and the rest of his friends .
014 . IS SENSICAL , SENSIBLE AND ANOTHER WORD STARTING WITH S . levi has always had a good head on his shoulders . he's always been a good guy , with good morals , who tries to do the right thing . which is why he's not memorable compared to everyone else in his friend group who really seem to excel and be special . he's not shy , by any means , but is humble and modest about himself . cracks stupid jokes , because he loves to make people smile . loves to make people feel anything , actually . he's so selfless that it's kinda swung back to the point of becoming selfish ( never tells anyone what he wants , never admits to wanting anything if it means hurting someone else etc )
015 . HAS NO IDEA WHAT TO DO IN IRWINVILLE ANYMORE . feels awkward , almost too big and grown for the place now . isn't sure if he still has friends . barely feels like he has family ( his parents still live here ) . feels lost . like he's returning to a past that doesn't include him anymore . there's a sense of loneliness to levi now . a sense of lost-identity .
016 . KIND . UNTIL HE'S NOT . levi has definitely always been the kind of guy that can befriend a rock . somewhat a ‘ friend slut ‘ and ‘ people pleaser ’ . but , if push comes to shove . . levi will always defend his friends . he WILL be the leader of the sassy man apocalypse .