waiting for the harbor lights to change

“We’re all the same under our skin, aren’t we? We’re all wanting things we don’t understand. Things we can’t even name. The yearning so deep, like pinions over our hearts." Rhiannon Findley. Twenty-one. Half-siren. Shipwrecker. Hurricane.

[thisisadrianalennox-deactivated]

Adriana leaned over the counter, mindlessly playing with her fingers while the most annoyingly catchy song played over and over again in her mind. Suddenly noting the presence of someone else, she jumped slightly and took a deep breath. “Sorry! You scared me.”

[rhiannonfins]

These sorts of meetings were so rare for them, moments where they could pretend that they weren't constantly at odds because of who and what they were. "Oh, I am so sorry," Rhiannon smiled, placing a gentle hand on her girlfriend's shoulder. "I definitely didn't mean to scare you. I was just wondering if I could get your recommendation. I've only got an hour for lunch, and it appears," Teasing, smirking, she gave her girlfriend the once-over. "that what what I want isn't on the menu." 

[tsarchived-deactivated20150713]

A badass female was certainly what this story missed; a female of any kind, really! To say that in those days it wasn’t common would be a pathetic excuse. It was a piece of fiction, for heaven’s sake! “I like that,” Terra agreed as she looked back a few pages. Terra appreciated the way Rhiannon thought; her opinions and ideas Terra agreed with. She would keep them in mind when she continued reading. “Have a seat,” she offered finally, “And tell me what book has done a good job at portraying women.”

[rhiannonfins]

"Thanks," Rhiannon flounced, a toss of her hair as she adjusted her Shipwreckers bomber jacket. "A seat, how fancy," Her voice was teasing, but she happily sat, crossing her legs and folding her hands over her knee. She was so rarely asked to opinionate, that she was practically jumping at the opportunity. "Well, it depends on what genre you're asking me about. A lot of books that have recently come out are way better at showing all sides of a female heroine. Not so much with the classics, you know what I mean?" 

[rviseul-blog]

Hazel put her hands behind her back as Rhiannon spoke, feeling pleased and even slightly smug that the girl seemed to be taking interest in her offer, as utterly uninteresting as it was. “Oh, this is just my recruitment zone,” she replied. Really, all of Barton Hollow fell under that title, but she was just answering her questions as they came. “The address is on the flyer—in case you missed it, but no, it’s not right here.” Her friend Alana had graciously allowed her to use her front yard instead, since Hazel, nor her parents, really had a front yard of their own to use. “So, will you be there?”

[rhiannonfins]

What an odd thing to happen, Rhiannon thought. She'd encountered club recruiters, sports team recruiters, and even restaurant and hotel recruiters, but never a recruiter for a yard sale. They must have been really desperate to get rid of the junk or something. "Yeah, sure. I'll stop by. Are you guys moving, or something?" She'd heard of extreme tag-saling or whatever that television show was called, but she didn't think those people actually existed in real life. 

[keeganomalley]

           Keegan’s head turned to the side, away from the snippy girl slightly, as she chuckled slightly and tried to withhold her smirk. Eyes gleaming as she didn’t stop the roll of her own eyes, she crossed her arms. She was quite surprised to see the girl react in such a manner seeing as her significant other was clearly not around or she would’ve been hit, but she refrained from making a snide remark, the champagne giving a hazy pink edge to everything… even the girls blatant anger.

           “What?!" She gasped, pretending as though she was mortally wounded by the girl’s words. "You mean we’re not going to date now and get married and adopt three children?! I thought New Years Eve kisses like, sealed that deal.” She was feeling playful, and playing around with the girl was a wonderful source of amusement for the little lion.

[rhiannonfins]

Rhiannon's lips pursed, this girl was clearly harmless, if not annoyingly drunk, and as she sighed, her eyes rolled back in her head to further convey her irritation. The last thing she'd wanted was to be separated from Adrianna on New Years, but of course, that was exactly what had happened. "Do you kiss a lot of random people frequently?" Rhiannon asked, deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt, as she placed a fist on her own hip. "I mean, I get that it's New Years, but a name would be nice, first."

[siennasaldrich]

"Um, sure?" Despite the fact that the blonde standing before her was a siren, Sienna still didn’t mind answering a few questions. After all, she needed to talk to people more often, even if they were supposed to be her enemies. “You can go ahead and ask them,” she added, smiling softly.

[rhiannonfins]

Staring at the girl in front of her, Rhiannon's posture shifted. If she could get a good answer out of this one, Isla would probably never saddle her with a boring articule ever again. With a smirk, she got set to write, her pen poised on her clipboard. "What's your opinion on the battle between the mermaids and the sirens? Who do you think murdered Isla and Isadora Greene's mother?"

[thelittle-raearchived-blog--blog]

Ariel jumped a little bit in surprise, as she hadn’t seen the girl coming ” Hi, hi..” she said, still looking taken aback but she wasn’t scared of the girl. Already calming down, she laughed at herself a little bit “Oh, yes..yes, of course” she said ” as long as they aren’t too personal. I guess.”

[rhiannonfins]

"Oh, don't worry, it's nothing personal. Or rather, it's as personal as you want it to be." Frankly, it was a completely boring topic, as once again, the good article went to Isadora. Well, that was fine. Rhiannon would write the best damn restaurant review that she possibly could. "We're considering adding a 'Best of Barton Hollow' section in The Siren Times, but we need some public feedback. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about your favorite restaurant here in town."

[sarai-isaacs-blog]

Looking up at the blonde, Sarai pushed her sun glasses back onto the top of her head and picked up her mug of chai tea. Lips twitching to the side, Sarai looked over her shoulder, unsure if the girl was talking to her, but the longer she stood there, the longer it seemed she was. “About?”

[rhiannonfins]

"It's for an article I'm writing about the self-identifying qualities and behaviors of certain species in Barton Hollow." She continued, knowing it wasn't the easiest topic for everyone to relate to. Still, an opinion could be given, regardless, and she hoped the girl in front of her saw it that way. "For example, the furies are all cheerleaders. Everyone knows they're all cheerleaders. There's not a fury who isn't a cheerleader, at least to our knowledge. What do you think about that?"

[dylan--hughes-deactivated202106]

Dylan could appreciate that the woman didn’t squirm or, even worse, faint at the sight of the dead deer. She was in no mood to assist a poor girl with a weak stomach. Of course, she was hardly ever in a mood to actually deal with people anyway. She chuckled, shrugging. “Both, I suppose.” She laughed, turning to face her. “Pretty monster. Those are always the worst.” She laughed, starting to slice off the head of the deer. It was far easier to transport to her home if it was in pieces, anyway. Far easier to feed to her hounds, especially. She turned her head to watch her carefully. “Lucky me. Are you planning on eating me up?” She asked, laughter in her voice. She liked this one. She didn’t have a weak stomach or heart, and she seemed to possess a good amount of sarcasm to be funny, but not nearly enough to grate on Dylan’s nerves. But that could just be the kill putting her in a somewhat civil mood. 

[rhiannonfins]

Honestly, it wasn't the worst sight Rhiannon had ever seen in her life. It wasn't the first and it certainly wouldn't be the last. She had grown up under the sea, she understood the need for the killing of other creatures. It was the circle of life-- some died so that others could live. "They are, aren't they." The girl's words had been meant in jest, but Rhiannon knew that. Often, the most dangerous and terrifying people came in the most beautiful packages-- her girlfriend, for one thing. "I prefer seafood, but if you're offering..." She didn't eat other humans, she was back to her lighthearted, joking attitude. Rhiannon wasn't in the habit of killing other women, and she certainly wasn't going to start now.

[tatiana-hall-deactivated2015012]

Tatiana stopped n her tracks, the woman had already started talking, and the maran figured she might as well take a few minutes out of her day to respond to these questions of hers. “Make it quick and interesting, then. I would love to go home and rest.”

[rhiannonfins]

"Participation is not mandatory," Rhiannon shrugged, holding her clipboard to her chest. The only thing worse than no respondent was a reluctant respondent. If Rhiannon was going to really start hard-hitting the topics that she needed to through possible bias against certain species, and if she was going to impress Isla, she needed people passionate on the subject. "I would need to take a few minutes of your time in order to discuss customer service at Barton Hollow. I'd give you a restaurant, you tell me about your experiences there."

[viitsima]

"Siren Times?" Dominic had no idea what that was, and he didn’t really like agreeing to things he was unfamiliar with but he could always back out if something proved to be a bother, right? There were no cameras around, just the girl, and she seemed alright enough - could easily be mistaken for a student working on thesis if she hadn’t said anything - and he was a professor so…”Sure, what’s it about?” 

[rhiannonfins]

"The Siren Times," Rhiannon repeated, raising an eyebrow at the man in front of her. What kind of rock did you have to live under in order to not hear about Barton Hollow's most popular and really, the only newspaper worth reading? Still, she was a professional, at least, she had to be in this situation, and she wasn't going to let her phobia or bias against men cloud her interview. Hopefully. "I was wondering if I could get your opinon on relations between humans and supernatural beings?" It was a broad topic, she figured it would be in their best interests for her to elaborate. "For example, if a supernatural being that was slowly becoming extinct-- let's say a Southern Vampire, just for these purposes-- do you think it's in their best interests to mate with a human, to keep their species alive? Or would it be diluting and/or tainting a species that has been around for centuries?"

[rhiannonfins]

"Hey, there," Rhiannon adjusted her sunglasses on the bridge of her nose so that she could see her next respondent. "I work for the Siren Times, and I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions? I'm working on an article and I'd like to get the public's opinion."

[charlie-o-neal-blog]

Charlotte began working on the coffees while taking the receipt and handing it over to the other girl. The order wasn’t completely difficult, but it felt nice to have someone to be empathetic about her position. “Yeah, it gets pretty hectic, but I’ve gotten used to it by now. No, no. You’re fine, seriously. Big order aren’t actually too difficult to make. Especially if it’s basically all of the same thing.” She smiled over as she placed the coffees in a drink tray before moving it towards the blonde.

[rhiannonfins]

"Thanks," Rhiannon rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, figuring that she didn't need to ruin someone else's day in the meanwhile. "So, what do I owe you?" She asked, reaching into her seashell-shaped wallet to get the proper monetary amount. If she completed all of her assignments on time, today, then this all wouldn't be taken out of her paycheck. 

[tsarchived-deactivated20150713]

“That,” Terra said and pointed into the air, “is a valid point.” Having grown up in an environment that was largely dominated by men, she had never thought twice about the fact that there wasn’t a woman in Moby Dick; she had come to accept this as a reality. But this girl inspired her to continue, “What do you think needs to change, besides the obvious?” The story would need a strong woman, evidently, but what else? Terra leaned forward, skipping through the pages as if she was looking for something in particular. “If you were to rewrite it, what would you change?”

[rhiannonfins]

"Thank you," Rhiannon replied, a sly sort of smile on her lips. It was nice to be recognized for her intelligence, for once, instead of constantly having to compete with Isadora. In this woman's book, she was on top, and Rhiannon was rather keen on staying that way. "Well, I would put a badass female stowaway on board, and have her outsmart all of them. Do something along the lines of tracking the whale-- maybe she even gets the first hit of it." Shrugging, Rhiannon stepped closer to her. "Basically, the antithesis of sitting in a pretty dress and looking pretty."

[rviseul-blog]

Hazel had been out practically all day doing nothing but stapling various types of flimsy paper posters to posts and passing out flyers to people that she had never seen before in her life. The reason probably wasn’t at all extravagant to anyone else, but Hazel was content with bothering everyone else with them anyway. After all, she did need money for her sister, and Sterling had made it rather clear that she needed to start being a better person. So, what better way than to passive-aggressively do what he had told her by being as obnoxious about it as possible?

Seeing someone vaguely familiar pass her by, Hazel immediately hurried over to them, holding out an annoying vibrant piece of colored paper out to them. “I’m having a yard sale, if you’re interested in junk or being a hoarder,” she stated, “Not in my actual yard, though, because I don’t have one.”

[rhiannonfins]

A yard sale? Rhiannon couldn't think of a thing she'd rather not do on that day. Look through someone else's old junk so that she could only collect more of it? Well, it didn't seem to hurt, especially if perhaps there was some sea glass. Rhiannon was working on a present for Adriana, and she needed all of the sea glass tha she could possibly get her hands on. "Oh, yeah, that sounds cool." Rhiannon nodded, taking a flyer and examining it carefully, before she folded it in half and squished it into her bag. "That sounds cool. Are you having it here, later? Or is this just your recruitment zone?"

[dylan--hughes-deactivated202106]

Dylan cracked a smile, glancing over her shoulder at the woman. She looked her over. She was reacting better than most would at the sight of someone her size killing deer in the woods, and for that she was thankful. She was rather pretty, this one. Clever. Didn’t look like she’d grate on her nerves later on. “Cute.” She smirked, turning back to the deer, to slit it’s throat, draining the blood. At her words, she nodded, smiling once more. It was predatory, but it wasn’t directed at the woman. “Clever, too. What has such a pretty thing passing through these woods? Aren’t you afraid of the monsters that lurk in the trees?” She asked, teasing tone in her voice. 

[rhiannonfins]

The sight of the dead deer did little to pull at her heartstrings, considering she'd ripped apart sharks with her bare hands and tail. She could appreciate a hunter, although she knew she had to certainly be on her guard, for fear that the bow would be turned on her. "Is that to me or to Bambi?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow, her eyes lit up with amusement. "Perhaps I'm a monster," She shot back, a sort of smirk on her lips as she placed her hand on a jutted-out hip. Although, the forest was far from her natural habitat, and she really did feel like a fish out of water there. "And I'm heading back from class. Monster class." 

[tsarchived-deactivated20150713]

It wasn’t often that Terra felt not particularly interested but nonetheless pleasant about another person. This girl had caught Terra in one of her more distraught moments and not taken advantage of it; much less become angry when in hindsight it was Terra’s fault only that they had nearly crashed. And so she didn’t mind when the blonde stepped further onto her property; in fact, she was welcome.

“Yes, the first time in a long time,” she said. “I can’t by the life of me remember what happens.” But Terra appreciated the style of writing; and while the book might be filled with flaws and faults, she loved it for the writing if not anything else. “Have you ever read it?”

[rhiannonfins]

"I don't appreciate the perpetuating theme of a lack of strong female heroines in American literature," She sounded like a textbook, although she'd taken that statement right from her professor's mouth. How many literature classes had she sat through, bored out of her mind simply because there wasn't some kind of female presence in the books she was reading? She appreciated the Ancient Greeks, at least they knew how to properly worship at the feet of a siren. "Too many boys for me. The writing's pretty good, but I have basically no interest in homoerotic subtext, so I tend to pass on rereading it again for pleasure." 

[charlie-o-neal-blog]

Charlotte tried very hard not to pull a face as she wrote down the girl’s order and walked it over to the kitchen window. Once the red head returned to the cash register to finish adding in the items, she saw that there were now fish flavored chips to add on. Charlie had never seen anyone purchase them before, but she guessed it was popular somewhere in the city. “And how would you like those coffees, ma’am?” Her tone was sweet per usual, and she waited to make sure there would be no more additional choices made before printing the receipt.

[rhiannonfins]

Rhiannon often did consume smaller fish and the like, as a half-siren it seemed to be her taste palette, but she couldn't get behind eating sharks as the rest of her Shipwreckers did. "Black. Both of them. No milk, no sugar, no nothing." She was well aware of the fact that she was being one of those hideous customers from hell, but she'd apologize profusely and even probably give the girl a tip. "It must suck working here during a lunch rush, and I know I'm definitely not helping."