“No, you’d be surprised how many of your species aren’t able to dress themselves like they actually want to go anywhere,” Valdis scoffed. “That’s utterly depressing, you know that? Do you need a makeover, girl? I’m only feeling generous right in this moment, so think fast.”
“You’d really trust me with that stuff?” Okay, maybe it wasn’t her one had to look out for, but she lived with plenty of other people. Someone was bound to make a mess of something despite her best efforts. “Have anything that screams ‘fashion-but-practical’?” She figured Valid was the kind of person who wouldn’t take no for an answer, and even then, worming out of it seemed difficult. It wasn’t like she was a businessperson or was stuck in an office - she was always on the move and had to be comfortable. “Or is that not how you all roll up there?”
Charles squinted and picked up his drink, “Well, I’ll blame it on the lights. Or… you can let us pretend it never happened. Sorry.” He hadn’t fully laid eyes on her before the words left his mouth, he honestly hadn’t expected to see anyone he knew here. Especially her. “So, Shera, didn’t take you for one to visit the Badlands.” Charles motioned for the barkeep who stopped what they were doing and came over. “It’s normally hard to get their attention, but I tip well. Your drinks are on me, if you like.”
She had been so used to the charismatic Envy, she had simply thought the sudden meekness was uncharacteristic of him. But, like always, he rebounded. “That’s very kind of you.” She hadn’t expected running into someone she knew, and she certainly didn’t expect free drinks. Turning heads wasn’t something she wasn’t used to. With the bartender waiting, expecting her to order something, she did so. A few drinks, at most, couldn’t hurt. But her words - did she mean him paying for her drinks, or that she didn’t seem like the type to come here? She needed to forget herself, and there seemed no better place. “What, do I not seem the type? Neither do you, in all honesty. What happened to hanging out at those hoity-toity places? Finally tired of the tiny portions?”
“Oh, I’m definitely talking to the wrong person,” Valdis replied, looking over the woman’s clothing with a curled lip. Gross. “No wonder they destroyed your planet, they didn’t even know how to dress themselves properly. But I have, that’s where I live. Everyone things the same way as me.”
She had never had the luxury of knowing glitz and glamor. Yet Valdis’ words had made her flinch. She may have been Rwaddian, but she was still a person. But one person couldn’t speak for all of a species. “No, I’m pretty sure it’s just me who doesn’t know how to dress.” Even then, who could afford such fashion statements? Especially when it was increasingly difficult to pay the bills? “Down here, you take what you can get, and it’s like they reserve all that fancy stuff for people like you. We get last dibs, at best.”
“I just want to say that the fashion here? It’s an absolute travesty. Where are the details? The embroidery? The jewels? The silks? It’s horrible. I don’t understand how anyone in their right mind can process this place as anything but a poor man’s city.”
The ranting made her look down at her clothes. They weren’t much, mostly stuff she had owned for years. “Maybe you’re talking to the wrong person about it.” She wasn’t the fancy type. She was perfectly content with wearing work shoes and oversized cardigans everywhere, especially in winter. She didn't think anyone would consider her to have a fashion sense. Well, at least not the kind the other was complaining about. “Have you tried talking to people above Pandora Heights? Or do they have nothing to offer you?”
“I don’t know what I was expecting. The only experience I have like that is with my owner, I sometimes get to sit in when she is creating memories for droids. It’s a different world.”
“She does that for a living? Must be a creative person.” The tech going into that must be extensive! She couldn’t imagine going into that sphere. She’d much rather stick to medicine, thank you very much. “So what exactly do you do?”
The Passenger, finally revealed to be named Envy, owned Charles now. Fully and completely, the man that used to be was gone. Tucked away in the back of Envy’s mind safe and secure, but trapped forever. There were people that suspected something was wrong with him, but not many of them knew him longer than the year the Passenger had been in him. Before, the man was quiet though friendly, but still had a scarce social life. Now, Envy was everywhere and anywhere that could give him something whether it be pleasure, money, or just more.
Today, the Passenger was winding down from the surgery he spent hours on last night in Black Rabbit. It was outside of the city, sure, but he’d been here before in a different body. They had great security and he knew how to not look out of place. When someone sat next to him, he turned to smile and open conversation, “Nice night, huh? Are you from the city?”
While Shera shouldn’t have been anywhere near here, the city was the last place she wanted to be. Oh, especially not home. She’d be smothered in family, extended or not. They were all family, every Rwaddian in their tight-knit community was. In reality, all she wanted to do was take the longest nap known to the galaxy, but a drink was better than nothing.
She hadn’t expected to find someone she knew sitting at the bar, and she found herself near him. Then he spoke, and the joke on the tip of her tongue never came out. Did he not recognize her? She turned to him, disbelief on her face. “Have you had that much to drink, Charles? Or are you gonna blame it on the lights?”
To sum her up, she wants to be helpful and useful (while having fun and keeping a low profile among those who don’t count, of course), but wanting to be authentically herself.
girls are amazing. we give each other things constantly. u need a tampon?? 5 girls will look in their purses! u have dry hands? here use some of my lotion!! oh no are u thirsty?? let’s share my drink!! looking for a cute outfit?? u can borrow some my clothes if u want!! are u hungry?? wait 10 minutes i’ll make u dinner!!
“No, I did not have the luxury of playing any games. I got to visit Towanna, my owner has mentioned it a few times to me. So I suppose I just got to experience the lounging around on the beach with the fake tanning. A waste of credits.”
“It’s an experience at least,” Shera shrugged. “Something new, something different. The city can get boring or too stuffy for some people. What were you expecting it to be like? Some sort of adventure?”
“I attempted to visit Diamond Realities. I don’t understand why those who are, er, living — I don’t understand why they would want to imagine a world that isn’t there when they could take a ship to visit it in person. Granted, I was almost refused service for what I am, but I don’t understand the purpose of it.”
Why go there when you can imagine it yourself? “It’s probably better in your head than in reality. Not virtual reality.” Why she felt the need to clarify herself, it didn’t matter. “Some play it more for the fun games. Did you get to play one while you were there? Or a couple? They’re not all lounging around on the beach, fake tanning. I heard they have some pretty scary ones now, but that it’s better in a party room. Less outside sound.”
she would be a WIZARD if she could.
she would be a WARLOCK with the all the wrong attributes.
𝙱𝙰𝚁𝙱𝙰𝚁𝙸𝙰𝙽 » toothy grins, stories around the campfire, clothes covered in pet hair, hot temper, old jeans, heartbeat in head, potatoes and steak, beaded jewelry, bruises like galaxies, mementos, backpack stuffed full, craigslist furniture, spontaneous road trips, air ripped from lungs.
𝙱𝙰𝚁𝙳 » homemade bread, white lies, easily excited, trying on hats, band geek, pep talks, no impulse control, sunsets, vintage fashion, long showers, selfies, following dreams, rosy cheeks, song mash-ups, pink lemonade with tequila, loves easily, animated storyteller, full of comebacks.
𝙲𝙻𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙲 » list of wishes, biting their tongue, band-aids and neosporin, shoulder to cry on, morning sun, necklaces, trial and error, homemade quilts, formal clothing, astrology fan, messages in bottles, pleated braids, speaking up for friends, feathers, motivational quotes, vivid dreams.
𝙳𝚁𝚄𝙸𝙳 » bird watching, shy kid, wind chimes, trying to whistle, summer camp, apple orchards, lost in their head, glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, hoodies, thrift shopping, saving worms off the sidewalk, latin, bare feet, thunderstorms, numb fingers, braided hair, naming potted plants.
𝙵𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃𝙴𝚁 » goosebumps, leather jackets, adventure, chewing nails, cares deeply but can’t show it, bronze locks, no sleep, taste of iron, netflix binges, never forgets, combat boots, stories behind scars, table for one, official soundtracks, sore calves, trusts themselves the most.
𝙼𝙾𝙽𝙺 » always trying to be better, wanderlust, meditation, sweatpants, old photographs, yoga, sleeping in hammocks, nostalgia, minimalist design, breath of fresh air, baby animals, volunteering, perfectionist, doesn’t care about fashion, healthy snacks, noticing the little things.
𝙿𝙰𝙻𝙰𝙳𝙸𝙽 » school uniforms, thick jackets, sleeping with the windows open, logical advice, scrapbooking, compasses, i fight for my friends, sculpture gardens, cold morning air, big soul, likes routine, secret romantic, last to get jokes, sunflowers, practical presents, misty weather.
𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙴𝚁 » herbal tea, smell of rain, blinking away tears, camping trips, collecting bones, swiss army knives, first impressions, anxious thoughts, bobby pins, burnt marshmallows, too competitive, clothes lines, messenger bags, holding grudges, gets along better with animals than people.
𝚁𝙾𝙶𝚄𝙴 » flirtatious sarcasm, candid photos, lost phone chargers, adrenaline rush, picking dirt out from beneath their nails, social chameleon, clashing clothes, self-deprecating jokes, claw machines, sits in chairs wrong, smudged eyeliner, has too many sunglasses, eats nothing or everything.
𝚂𝙾𝚁𝙲𝙴𝚁𝙴𝚁 » infectious laugh, family trees, shivers down their spine, lipstick and roses, mood swings, clumsy, believing in destiny, high expectations, sleeping in darkness, collection of nail polish, passionate, good grades but never studies, poetry books, blowing kisses, not knowing their own strength.
𝚆𝙰𝚁𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙺 » knowing everyone’s secrets, backpack covered in pins, envy, being in walmart late at night, earl grey, selective memory, conspiracy theories and cryptids, keysmashing, need to know basis, can’t cook, bags under eyes, experimental art, flickering bulbs, black clothing all year long.
𝚆𝙸𝚉𝙰𝚁𝙳 » piles of books, cat in lap, keeping a diary, indecision, scented candles, studying alone in a café, lingering touches, museum dates, unanswered questions, taking on too much responsibility, collections, chalk dust, comfy robes, unnecessary apologies, coming home after a long day.
⌜ 𝙸𝙽𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙶 ⌟ : shera verrill, requesting clearance to land on avalon. files show she is a thirty year old rwaddian, working here as a nurse at nexus clinic. she found her residence in the zinlet metropolis district, and does plan on staying there long. [ ahsen eroglu, trans woman ]
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QUICK FACTS
full name: shera verrill
nicknames: era
age: thirty
species: rwaddian
gender: trans woman
pronouns: she/her/hers
orientation: pan
occupation: nurse at nexus clinic
homeworld: rwaddi
current residence: zinlet metropolis, avalon, nacene, galaxy core
HER STORY
She knows she was one of the few who made it out alive. She was forced to be thankful for that gift every day, even as a young child. She doesn’t remember much before coming to Nacene, but what she does is terror. Of what? Her family was sure to drill it into her.
She understands why her family stayed among the other Rwaddians and didn’t venture out when they had the opportunity. But she isn’t like her parents. She wants to explore and learn what else is out there.
What made her stay was medicine - learning how to help others when they need it. It had always fascinated her, and while her family encouraged her to pursue her dreams, they hadn’t expected her to be a nurse. But in all honesty? She loves what she does, even if her family doesn’t approve of her interacting with other species.
When she isn’t working, and decides to be out in public, she’s probably at Kento Park.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW?
She has a routine ... for the most part. She’s far too comfortable with her non-nomadic life. Something’s going to have to break it all down. Someone break down her walls and give her an adventure.
She’s also a bit of a socialite. Probably not in the good way either. Could she have made friends with the wrong crowd? Or perhaps enemies with the wrong people?
