[female she/her] Welcome to Aurora Bay, [ZOE GUTIÉRREZ]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [JESSICA ALBA]. You must be the [FORTY] year old [RN/TRAUMA NURSE AT AURORA BAY HOSPITAL]. Word is you’re [FRIENDLY] but can also be a bit [RECKLESS] and your favorite song is [STOLEN BY DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [CRYSTAL COVE CONDOS]. I’m sure you’ll love it!
@aurorabayaesthetic
About:
Name: Zoe Elena Galan Gutiérrez
Pronouns & Gender: she/her, cis woman
Birthday: December 4, 1985 (40 years old)
Star sign: Sagitarius
Born in: Seattle, WA
Location: Crystal Cove Apartments
Time in Aurora Bay: arrived late 2024/early 2025
Sexuality: Straight
Relationship Status: Single/Divorced
Occupation: RN/Trauma Nurse at Aurora Bay Hospital
Degree/Certification: BSN, ACLS, CEN, TCRN
Face Claim: Jessica Alba
General appearance: Long brown hair, brown eyes, 5’7, slim build
Personality: When she’s in her element, Zoe can light up a room. She’s friendly and bubbly, despite some harsh life experiences. She’s usually quick to make friends–or at least make acquaintances–and easy to talk with. She’s curious, and genuinely interested in the people around her and the world they share. She can be somewhat self-destructive and reckless when she’s up in her feelings, but usually does a good job of smoothing things back out. She’s the epitome of grace under pressure in most instances, and almost always able to take control of any level of stressful situation and diffuse things.
Zoe’s Story (tw light mentions: foster care, drug use, infertility, cheating, divorce):
She had always been a survivor. She had to, growing up being tossed around the foster system, bouncing between relatives and strangers, depending on who had the time and space to take care of her. She and her older sister spent more time apart than together in their youth. Their mom just couldn’t manage to stay clean long enough to be a decent parent, and both their fathers were long out of the picture. It wasn’t until she was in her teens that she got some stability in her life, her sister Marisol (Maisie) bringing her to live with her once she had an apartment of her own. They were seven years apart, but Maisie and Zoe remained extremely close, even after time and circumstances kept them apart. Maisie did everything she could to give them a good life, and she was the role model her baby sister needed to get her own life on track. Zoe struggled with some of the same addiction issues their mother had, and her older sister was there to help her get clean each time, pick up the pieces, heal.
Despite her reckless nature, Zoe was always the friend who looked after everybody else. Even in her teens, she was constantly taking care of her friends, keeping them safe and healthy, helping them recover through their own struggles. She got the nickname ‘Doctor Zoe’ long before she ever came to stay with her sister. It was Maisie, though, who encouraged her to look into nursing programs when she was in her 20s and kind of aimless, her big sister recognizing Zoe’s innate desire to take care of people. She loved to be needed. Craved it, even. She spent so much of her childhood being ignored or overlooked or cast aside that she’d do anything to keep someone’s focus. She developed a bit of a promiscuous side, happily spending time with any guy who paid her even a little bit of attention. She went through a slew of messy hookups and pseudo relationships, with a mix of longer dating periods here and there. Usually, she’d find a way to mess things up with whoever she was seeing, always eager for that next new entanglement. Eventually, though, she met a sweet young doctor, Thomas, at the hospital she was working at, and she couldn’t imagine wanting to spend another night with any other man.
They dated for less than a year and got married way too soon. Their life wasn’t exactly a fairytale romance. They both worked long hours, making it immediately hard to actually build a life together. Their personalities clashed much of the time, Zoe far too outgoing and extroverted compared to her quiet, introverted husband. She loved to socialize and go out and he hated leaving the house on his days off. They could barely agree on what to have for dinner some nights, let alone bigger life decisions, like where to settle or when to have kids–Zoe wanted to focus on her career and wait. Tom wanted them to start soon, since they were already in their 30s. For Tom’s sake, and the sake of their marriage, she relented, agreeing to try for kids, even if it meant she’d have to put her job aside for a while.
Nearly two years later, they still hadn’t been able to conceive. They were arguing frequently, and whatever love they’d had early in the relationship had turned to toxicity. Still, she tried to make things work, tried to put whatever free time she had into the marriage, tried to be the good little wifey she was supposed to be. They went to counseling for the next year, and things seemed to be getting better. They were even talking about trying for kids again and looking into fertility treatments. And then she found out Tom had been having an affair with one of the residents at their hospital. He wanted to do counseling again, try to fix things. In Zoe’s eyes, there was nothing left to fix.
Their divorce was as quick and amicable as it could be, mostly because Zoe wanted to put as much distance between herself and that life as she could. She left the hospital they’d worked at and their shared apartment, and moved back in with Maisie for a short time while she applied for more nursing jobs. She did part time work at a few clinics in the meantime, and finally got a full-time trauma nurse position in a town called Aurora Bay. It was hard to move so far away from her sister, but this was an opportunity to rebuild her life and start fresh.
"I always wanted to be one of those craft beer people, but — and maybe this is just me being uncultured — IPAs taste like fuckin' soap to me." Mavis grabbed a small glass from the flight between her and the person across and slid it over. "Seriously, is that appealing to you? Be honest."
"No, you're 100% right," Zoe says after taking a tiny little sip of the IPA. "Whoever decided that tasting straight up hops was going to be the big fad should be... Well, fed a bunch of hops." She laughs. "Trying to find a good wheat ale on tap anymore is like a challenge at some of the really trendy places, too... Although the couple they have here are good."
@maviscampbell
Ford smiled a bit at the comment about appreciating florists more, considering the fact his girlfriend was in charge of the town floral business. He definitely learned an appreciation off the art through iris. “ I mean I didn’t really think to much about it till I started to date one. You have to get very creative making bouquets without using real flowers to give as a gift “ @recklesszoe
She smiles immediately, gaze back on him. "Aww. Yeah that definitely makes it harder to go pick her out some flowers. And then if you do you're supporting the competition..." She gives a playful tsk before her expression shifts. "I'm sure she has every single one of the Lego bouquets in existence at this point? Or not her style...?"
@ford-tamblyn
"Well, eclectic does tend to be my overall vibe, so I'll take the compliment." Gillian mused, grinning as she looked at her bouquet with all sorts of flowers in every color and size imaginable, nothing really cohesive about it. "If anything at least I know my boyfriend will like it since he hypes up just about everything I do."
"See? Perfect!" Zoe beams. Her smile softens as Gillian continues, Zoe nodding. "Sounds like a good guy. That's exactly what he should be doing. You know, short of him supporting you committing legit crimes or whatever... Unless that's the vibe." She shrugs. "I'm not here to judge." At least... not anything besides her own bouquet.
@thegillyxliang
Izzy couldn't help a nose wrinkle at that confession. Her eyes immediately scanned the bouquet for the culprit, even though, admittedly she didn't know the first thing about flowers. At least, other than the basics. "I would suggest smelling them one by one, but I’m afraid you might go nose blind, like someone walking into a Bath & Body Works."
Zoe laughs, nodding. "Ugh. Yep. I'm part of the cucumber melon generation as far as Bath & Body Works goes--but I don't think they've made that for... at least a decade. That's me in Lush every time, too, though. Come back with the worst smelling bath bombs because their neighbors smelled so pretty..." She shakes her head, then perks. "You think stores do that on purpose? Like, they know a particular product has a bad smell so they mask it by surrounding it by things that smell better?"
@iscbcla
"So long as you don't mistake peonies with roses, as peonies are a 'happier' flower for occasions and people do not like them in their funeral arrangements." @recklesszoe
"Oh, really?" She seems struck by this fact, Zoe canting her head slightly as she considers. "It's so crazy to me how many rules there are for flowers. I guess exceptions are made if they're, like... the deceased's favorite flower or whatever?"
@gravenewgirl
⸻ Freyja got excited to hear the news from her, and a sly smile crept over her plush. ❛ Ahh, and where in Europe would you like to go ? But keep in mind is never too late to start, whatever it is you want to do.❜ In that case, she meant by the start to travel for now because Zoe was "afraid" of planes. As an European, she knows some good spots over there. ❛ Ahh, no… He doesn't have toddler turntables yet. ❜ She chuckled and thought about how this could give her migraine. Either way, that could be fun for him. Maybe she could consider.
❛ Ah, I feel you. Once, when I lived in another place, my neighbors were also very loud, but the husband and wife were always quarrelling, so they put on loud music by Michael Jackson or Madonna to disguise their yelling at high volume. When it wasn't their screaming, it was a lady crying down there. ❜ She recalls the time she lived on that horrible building. ❛ The first opportunity to run away from there I went, and sure, I had a neighbor who said I made noises early morning, but then I spent the majority of my time traveling, my apartment "empty"… So I don't know why she was complaining about. She's not very… ❜ Clears her own throat. ❛ Normal, per say. ❜ She adds.
❛ My son loves them, fortunately. And it's his siblings for the time being. Even though the pets get tired of Nils' energy! I admire their patience with him tho. ❜ Still, Freyja is always there, monitoring the interaction and guiding her son on how to treat a pet; she never knows when he is being too much for her furry children. ❛ I'm always watching him when he is with them, 'cuz the other day, Nils was eating dog food, when I got distracted for one minute. And he barked at me when I asked if he was a dog. ❜ So little, and so sassy, she shook her head as if she was waving off her thoughts.
"We're gonna go to Prague and then heading to some German city after that," she says with a shrug and a smile. "And then somewhere else... I forget, though. She's the itinerary person. I'm just there for the vibes." She pauses, then adds, "I'd apparently be very easy to kidnap. What's nice is I think a bunch of our travel when we're there is by train. God, I wish we had better transit in the US..."
Zoe laughs. "Oh no! See, that would probably forever give me PTSD for those artists, too. Every time I put on Material Girl I'd have flashbacks to my crazy neighbors..." She grins at Freyja, though her expression shifts as the other woman continues. "That place sounds like a nightmare, girl."
She nods along, grin growing again. "Aww, that's good. I know some people are way too lax with their kids and their pets... Or... fur babies." The dog food story has her giggling, Zoe shaking her head. "Kids, man. They will get into anything and everything they can, too." Granted, most of her experience is mostly limited to pediatrics subbing, but she's certainly seen some crazy cases that way. It's how she learned some curious kids will eat anything, including rocks and magnets. Her expression softens once more. "He's lucky to have such an awesome Mommy, though. You're giving him a really balanced and unique life. If I had managed the whole parenting thing, I'd want to be like that, too."
@freyjadahl
"See these are the types of lessons I needed back then, instead of just going for it." It was good memories though, a likely simpler time when just going for a laugh was more than enough. Her reenactment was making him full on laugh though, trying to picture said shoes instead of the air beneath the sharp angles of her feet. At least she was also having an equally good time with it, apparently.
"I think the drinks were the main point so that way the shoes were just forgotten about." At least that's what he had heard from his circle of friends for whom they were a regular accessory. "I heard that too. So what do they do? Just vape I guess?" Maybe he'd have to ask some of his Gen Z employees or his regular patrons. "Or are they too good for that and just stay sober?" His forehead wrinkled in deep thought. "I can't imagine that for every party though."
"Oh, duh!" Why hadn't he thought of that? "I'm Luca, amazing to meet you," he greeted Zoe with another smile. Or it had just brightened up again, because this conversation had had him pretty joyful throughout. "Think you've finally finished your masterpiece there?" he motioned to her very full bouquet. "Or still have more to add?"
"Hey, it's always better to go for it than not--even without lessons." She grins for a moment, then gets a mock serious tone. "I mean, unless it's, like... Something actually dangerous. Then absolutely get the lessons. Don't go, like... swimming with sharks or skydiving or whatever on a whim." A smirk tugs her lips.
"Absolutely," she says with a nod, then gives a wistful sigh. "You know most bars don't even do 'ladies' night' or '$2 shot night' and all those other fun discounts anymore. So lame..." Her voice gets playfully quiet in a whisper tone. "I'm told they get high," she offers with a brief Cheshire Cat smile, "Which is... legal, so... I guess not that weird." A shrug. She laughs at his admission. "What? You don't want to dance wildly and talk loudly over mediocre DJing surrounded by sweaty, obnoxious drunks while completely sober? Crazy..."
Her smile is genuine and warm. "You, too." At the question, she gives a wary glance to her bouquet, it still looking a bit chaotic and sad, but not entirely terrible. "I think I have to be," she says. "You know how sometimes with art you just... keep adding more paint or whatever and it eventually becomes just... chaotic garbage? I worry if I add more flowers I'm gonna hit that point. So... This is it." She holds up the bouquet with a smirk, a couple of the flowers flopping outward as if giving up. "My Mona Lisa, if you will." She pushes the bouquet toward him, fighting a grin. "I think you should have them. You know, for being my muse through this journey, and all."
@lucacochrane
Describe a soft scenario or memory involving your muse.
Some time toward the end of 2024:
“So, I’ve been thinking,” Zoe begins quietly. Her sister’s attention is on her immediately, Maisie’s expression already etched with concern. “I think I need to leave Seattle.”
“What?” the older sibling starts, not even giving her sister a chance to explain, “Zoe, you know you are welcome here as long as you need. What you’re going through, mija? You need family. You don’t have to bounce back and try to be Superwoman. It’s OK to just lay low here and–”
“No, no,” Zoe shakes her head, “It’s… it’s not that. I… I know I’m welcome here. I know you’re here for me, and I absolutely appreciate it. Seattle just…” She pauses, trying to find the right words.
“Thomas,” Maisie offers with a frown.
Zoe nods slowly. “Exactly. Tom’s everywhere and I feel like I’m already just living in our memories every-damn-where I go. Plus, the hospital…”
“Could you transfer to Harborview or one of the others?” her sister offers helpfully.
Zoe shakes her head. “No. There aren’t any openings right now. But, like… even if there were? He works there too. He gets brought in everywhere for the specialty stuff. He’s…” She pauses, searching for the right word, “Unavoidable.”
“I don’t like this idea,” Maisie softly protests.
“I know,” Zoe says. She gives a soft sigh and moves for her sister, hugging her. The older woman embraces her tightly with the same warmth she has her entire life. Zoe’s light in the darkness.
“I’m gonna miss you,” Maisie murmurs.
Zoe fights a little laugh, shaking her head while still clutching her sister. “I’m… not leaving today or anything.”
Maisie laughs lightly with her. “I know. But I’ll still miss you.”
“I do have feelers out, though,” Zoe tells her, “And I’ve already got a couple interviews with hospitals in a couple other states.
“States?!” her sister whines.
“I knooooow,” Zoe’s tone matches Maisie’s. “But… But one of them is somewhere really beautiful? A little beach town. If I get it you could come chill on the beach with me in the Summer…”
“I’d rather have my sister here,” Maisie says.
“Me too,” Zoe says, squeezing her tighter before finally releasing. “But right now I also need space from Tom and the divorce and all that.”
Her sister nods knowingly. She’s silent for a moment, then gets a hint of a smirk on her lips. “When you first started talking,” Maisie says, “I was really worried you were going to tell me you guys were getting back together.”
Zoe’s eyes widen and she laughs, shaking her head quickly. “Absolutely fucking not.”
Did your muse have a favourite childhood story or fable?
Oh gosh... Anything where somebody got to leave their mediocre or disappointing life and go find their happily ever after. Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel and Gretel. Just, you know... Things like that. I guess Beauty and the Beast was up there, too--minus the lusting after basically a werewolf part. I just... wanted to feel like there was hope, you know? Like there was a way out.
How does your muse behave when they are with their crush / love?
I mean... I like to think I'm myself all the time, but probably just, like... more friendly, more giggly? Maybe a little more playful, a liiiitle more touchy-feely. But I don't think I act that different. It's not middle school or anything.
What is your muse’s ANTI-love language / what gives them the ick? :)
'Where's my hug?' guys for sure. Guys that are too touchy-feely. Guys that lean waaaay in when they talk to you and completely invade your bubble... These are all kind of ironic considering I'm extremely touchy-feely with people and absolutely love to hug friends... But, like... I also try to respect people's boundaries? Hm... Self-proclaimed 'nice guys,' too. If you're really a nice guy, you don't need to tell people. We'll know. Guys who say they can't be friends with women or feel entitled to more when they are friends with a woman--but also guys who only have female friends. ... Also couples who use words like 'twin flame' on social media. I can't fucking stand that. Oh! And people who call each other 'babe' for their 'couple nickname.
I think it depends on my mood, to be honest. I listen to a lot of different stuff, and sometimes the wild, crazy stuff is more calming than the chill? When I want to relax, though I listen to a lot of, like... shoegaze-adjacent stuff. Like... I could put on most Deftones songs and feel more chill, or like, Slowdive or My Bloody Valentine, or maybe some Tame Impala... But I also get on these modern-ish R&B deepdives, too, so sometimes I just want to vibe to Miguel or Daniel Caesar, maybe some Alina Baraz...
At first, he had thought they were just part of the more after-party vibe, as that was generally when he was seeing them either coming to go bowling or roller skating. But no, they were apparently the height of fashion he had learned.
"Are you saying you don't think I could pull off the club heels?" he smirked back. He knew exactly the type she was talking about from years of attending those events with his friends. "Maybe once or twice," he divulged, voice dropping like it was a secret. "But my feet are a little too big and too flat for them to really fit well. Plus, just made me look like a giant lumbering through the woods or something." The height of the platforms only boosted his already lanky frame - or so he could remember from trying them mainly as a dare. "Though I would say back in our day, eventually people's feet probably were just numb and immune to anything from those things after awhile. Kids these days don't have that kind of resilience, I guess."
"I think you're probably right. I can't imagine they've completely died off?" He wasn't sure, the end of the sentence raising a little. "I don't have kids either, so any knowledge is beyond second hand. Did you ever have any of those that matched your outfits, in their heyday?"
Zoe makes a show of looking down at his legs as if to check them out, smirking. "Oh, no, you absolutely could rock them. I don't doubt it for a second." Her amusement only grows as he describes his foray into high heels, Zoe's eyes practically lighting up. She has to fight a laugh when he mentions clomping around. "See, you needed a teacher to help you learn how to walk gracefully. Heel-toe, heel-toe, heel-toe..." As she says this, she demonstrates, miming wearing shoes at the same time, then laughs as she almost trips herself, just barely saving her bouquet in the process. "OK, OK... it's... way easier to do this when I'm actually wearing heels..."
Her smile grows with those inclusive words and she nods quickly. "Oh, they were. By the end of the night, I didn't even know I had feet half the time." Here she pauses, scrunching her face just a little with her next admission. "Granted, that was also probably because there were so many questionably-named and crazy-sweet shots being passed around... but, you know." A shrug, and then she adds. "I heard Gen-Z also doesn't actually drink as much as millennials. I kind of believe that."
She considers, lips briefly pursing. “Yeah, I mean... The stores definitely still do the whole... prom spread in spring so I imagine it's still a money-maker?" She offers. "And ohhh my gosh I totally did. Just, like... a couple, including a hideous pair of leopard print heels with pink bows that were a near-exact match for this very... short and ruffled and dated pink and leopard print dress." She rolls her eyes, fighting a smile, "I wore it with one of those... bolero type crop jackets. I fucking loved that outfit." She lets out a nostalgic sigh, then laughs off her own words before continuing. "Zoe, by the way."
@lucacochrane
"I guess for me I just I wanted to stay in the Barbie world like that place was sick and then it kind of hit me over the head with sappiness once they got into the real world. Maybe that was kind of the point, but I just prefer a story about a weird little girl trying to raise the dead and accidentally summoning a knock off Barbie instead. " @recklesszoe
"I legit started to tear up at the scene where she talked to the old lady on the bench in the real world," she admits with widening eyes, "So I might be part of the problem... But yeah I get that, too. Like... Some of the messaging was heavy-handed, to be fair. But I also cried a little in the scene with Rhea Perlman. In my defense I was PMSing when I went to see it, and dealing with relationship drama at the time, too. I swear I don't just, like... cry at every sappy scene in a movie." She smirks. "Just, like... half." Zoe fights a laugh at Bentley's description of the other movie. "Wait--was that what she was doing in the movie? Oh--oh her mom, right?"
@lambxtamb
"it's a fine line for white flowers." layla shrugs, gently letting her finger touch on the large flower petals. "they can either look like they're for a wedding, or a funeral precession." she wonders how that happened to be, that these two pinnacle moments in life became associated with white flowers. "i think a little touch of colour to contrast and it'll be gorgeous."
"Kind of odd how that works," she says, bringing the other woman's thoughts right into the world with her own. "You know, I deal with death constantly, but I actually haven't been to many funerals?" Zoe shrugs. "Kind of lucky to be able to step back from it in those moments, maybe..." She takes her advice, slipping some little wispy yellow flowers into her bundle. Zoe's head cants to the side as she assesses the bouquet with even the slight addition. "It's kind of giving 'wildflowers' now, which I love..."
@ponderosus
