status: closed ft. @nyxgreaves
location: some bar in the slums of Soteria
She’d spotted the other woman only minutes earlier, hidden in the corner as to be overlooked by the untrained eye. Except Nyx still looked out of place inside the bar, at least in Shay’s mind. Hell she was the real one out of place here, in a city that had long ago made it clear she was not welcome. It wasn’t just the lack of eyes glued to a screen held close to her face, or the fact that she didn’t have a glazed look on her face as she read whatever information that came through the meridian occular implant most people from the city had. This was the outskirts, the places where the Soteria rejects lived and were exiled from that technology. It was her downright dingy appearance that gave it away. Travel and a lack of clean clothes made it real clear she was the outsider here. Which is why she couldn’t meet the woman somewhere else. Hell just being in Soteria was risky enough, at least here no one would question it.
“Now how come I always have to meet you?” Sliding into the opposite side of the booth after another few minutes of scanning the crowd inside. There already were enough people drunk enough that she might even have fun on her way home. Turning her attention back towards the raven haired woman across from her, Shay smiled and poked fun again. “And in a place like this? You do know I am dressed for a formal night out. I mean look at me, I don’t belong here. I should be schmoozing with those fancy software guys and trying to pretend they are gods gift to Soteria for keeping them out of the dark ages.”
Nights were a STRANGE time in this part of Salus. The buildings of these derilict streets were either shaking with the noise, or creating the only sound as they creaked to the winds. There were never many nights out here where there was anything in between those two extremes. Perhaps this is why Marilyne liked it here; it truly was all or nothing. Tonight, this small block would appear all but abandoned to anyone who didn’t know its secrets. Though, mother nature had decided a quiet night was not to be had. Distant rolls of thunder broke the white noise of the rain every few minutes, the white sheets of light uncovering the surroundings a few moments later. Marilyne was a great lover of storms - there was something about the rain, thunder and the lightning that felt like home. This was why, instead of being tucked away in shelter waiting for it to pass, she was walking TOWARDS the eye. At least, she was until she came across another lonely soul out in the middle of the no mans land of Salus.
Some might be SCARED of such an encounter, others rightfully apprehensive. Most would likely find another way around, and avoid the encounter all together. But, not her. No, Marilyne smiled as she turned off of her path to walk over to this stranger - or perhaps they weren’t a stranger - it was hard to tell under the cover of dark. “You know, you really shouldn’t allow someone to walk up on you like this out here - especially in the DARK,” an unsettling greeting for sure, but perhaps not an uncommon one for these parts.
The sheets of rain that had been coming down for a while now had finally lessened enough for Shay to venture back out on the roads towards home. She’d taken cover in a tiny little makeshift bar that you’d miss unless you knew it was there. Fortunately for her she traversed all over Salus often enough that she’d been able to take shelter easily without problems from the other few in the business and had been left alone. Her preferred method of interactions it seemed as of late. Maybe it was the lack of nicotine coursing through her veins but she’d been on edge all day. She hadn’t been able to make the trade she’d wanted to earlier in the day after hunting all over for the scrap metal this client had wanted and it put her in a foul mood. It was definitely that, not the nicotine, she wasn’t an addict. A lie she told herself to make her feel better.
The rain wasn’t helping either because the sound of thunder in the distance warned her that this was only the beginning. Already drenched and still a ways to go her mind was busy cursing herself out for being out her when a voice made her jump and whip around to find the source. “Jesus Marilyn!” Exclaiming loudly when her eyes adjusted to the woman to her right and recognized the figure in the dark. “I could say the same to you, you know. What if you’d just scared someone who would have shot you before asking questions? Huh?” Her mind racing back to some of the heathens out here who liked to act before thinking.
“Also what are you doing? Waiting for lightning to strike you?”
“– and she told me she needed five stitches after she “accidentally” stabbed herself with the bread knife. A bread knife. So I said, come on– you have to get better with your bullshit. At least be more realistic, you know?” Marc shook his head as a short, crude snort left him.
“Anyways, enough about me. What’s got you in this time?”
Her head bobbled up and down as she listened to the story, agreeing in that it was a ridiculous excuse and hardly believable. Bread knives didn’t even have a serrated edge meaning there would have had to been a lot of force driving the blade in. The man was right, if you’re gonna lie at least make it believable. “Oh I agree.” Voicing her thoughts finally after the story was over with. “I still don’t understand the need to lie about how you sustain an injury. It’s not like anyone really cares what happens. Interactions are just transactions anyways, so just spit it out.” Her eyes rolled as Shay had little time for bullshit herself these days. Maybe it was because there was too much to do or maybe because she’d long since stopped caring about others. Everything was just a means to an end anyways.
“No butter knife injuries, that’s for sure.” Twisting her torso a bit to reach and grab the piece of paper from her back pocket. It was a list of general care items like antiseptic, gauze, and things of the sort. Her client hadn’t given any information on why he wanted it and Shay didn’t ask. It was always safer not to in her experience. “If you’ve got it, I’m in need of these items.” Placing the list down on the table and sliding it over towards the man.
EVERYONE BLED THE SAME. That’s why it didn’t make a damn bit of difference who wound up on her doorstep, both sides came out red in the end. It didn’t change anything though, not her opinions, which had plenty experience with the devils in both doorways. Currently, it was her doorway, or more specifically front porch, that was occupied by someone. It didn’t matter the hour, day and night she made herself available to fix everyone else’s problems with avoiding her own. So, the door pulled open, smaller stature barely managing to fill her side of the frame as she shifted weight from one side to the other. “Social call, or should I start by asking how bad is it?”
Finding herself in Soteria was always a dangerous gamble the petite woman never liked to bet on. Her aversion to the plethora of lights and keenness on staying in the shadows helped with staying in the shadows but she wasn’t the only one who preferred not to be seen. All types of degenerates stuck to the backroads instead of using the railways and on the right night one could slip away unbothered. Except tonight was not one of those nights. Excursions into her city of birth meant lots of planning and multiple jobs crammed into one visit. The pack she hauled on her back had been enough to cause trouble if found out but instead tonight she’d just ran into some drunkards taking the piss out on whoever passed by.
Shay was small and worn out looking which generally made her an easy target for those looking, but tonight she’d put up a bit of a fight. Her only priority was to not lose the bag she’d come for and keep it she had. Maintaining but a few flesh wounds would mean she’d survive and she’d have skipped out on getting anything checked out had the cut on her arm not been bleeding more than she liked. There was one person she new in the city who would actually help her because hospitals inside wouldn’t. Not with no way to pay for it seeing as she technically lived in Salus. Which is how she found herself on Stasi’s doorstep, cradling her right arm and a wide grin plastered when the brunette opened up.
“Can’t it be both?” Chuckling softly as to not draw too much attention to herself and nodded down at her arm. “I think on a scale of one to ten it’s a three, but the damn thing won’t stop bleeding and I’ve still got a ways to go.” Thinking about her own trek back out of the city.
[zoe kravitz, 29, she/they] SHAY WHEDON showed up right on time for the end of the world. Even now, word is that they are PERCEPTIVE, but still get IMPULSIVE at the mention of how things used to be. They have been living in SALUS for SIXTEEN YEARS. If you go looking for them, you can usually find 1 LAST CIGARETTE by THE BAND CAMINO playing or use THE SMELL OF BLACK COFFEE AND A DISHEVELED APPEARANCE to narrow it down.
Biography
To say that sixteen years ago the reasoning for leaving Soteria was because of the stench of the over privileged was an understatement. Everywhere she looked people were obsessively trying to get their hands on the latest tech and were willing to do just about anything for it. Risk their entire life savings for a chance to use an illegal outdated piece of Meridian technology just to find out the truth behind their spouses lies. That was the case in the Whedon household and the exact reason that a girl born in Soteria was now living a life away from that very city. Her mother and father were not natives to the city but met and fell in love with the fast paced life a tech hungry city provided. Creating a family in that very space and reaping the benefits of a futuristic life compared to the ones they previously knew.
It was that same tech and need for more that ruined their relationship. Mr. Whedon had a fancy job as one of the engineers for Meridian. Software updates had his name all over them and that left very little time for family matters. Work always came first and solely because it sustained their status and life in the city. Though with long hours and little time at home breeds suspicion in spouses who are left alone with their thoughts for too long. Overthinking leads to causing scenarios that aren’t there and creating arguments at every turn. This was the childhood that Shay remembered. Her father rarely at home except for the late night entry only to stumble into bed to repeat the process. Her mother obsessing over her fathers whereabouts and the newest Projector tech that was supposed to be able to reveal the truth behind someones actions. Get down to the core of a person and have them admit to whatever awful wrong doings they were being accused of. Except what happens when a person really doesn’t have anything to hide?
Shay’s mother was accused and found guilty by her peers of abusing the technology on her husband because she thought he was cheating on her. That the long nights and repeated absences could be explained away by faults of his own. She was wrong and justly banished to the slums, bringing her own ten year old daughter with her. There hadn’t been much a choice for Shay or her father because he wanted to keep his job and to do so meant cutting ties with his family. Shay didn’t blame him then and she certainly didn’t blame him now. Living without the umbrella of Meridian technology wasn’t ideal to someone who had spent their lives work helping maintain it. Turns out it wasn’t ideal to the woman who raised her either. The slums of Soteria really bring out the worst in people and crushes them into a million pieces if you let them.
Most teenagers are defiant against their parents, it’s got to be the changing hormones, and Shay was no different. While her mother took to being exiled as a form of punishment the teen thought of it as a breath of fresh air. The people she met and the things she saw proved that relying on anyone but yourself only caused disappointment later on. One night she had decided she’d had enough. Her mother turned to sedating herself with whatever she could and had all but forgotten about taking care of her only child. If Shay was going to survive she had to get out of the city, out of the place that she was no longer welcome and the only other option was Salus. No mans land that was full of bones of broken down cities but also freedom from the tech that eventually made everyone crazy for it.
Her formative years were spent trying to keep herself alive and in the wasteland of Salus that could be hard for a young girl. She learned very quickly that people are always looking for something and are willing to pay well enough given that you provide. Many people would have called her a thief but Shay liked to think of it differently, she merely took from people what they wouldn’t miss. She was small and ratty looking from years on her own and never really had anyone look twice at her. Working her way up from scrap metal to venturing into the city of Soteria and nabbing whatever discarded tech she could find. That part killed her the most, going back to the city to steal outdated systems, but it paid the most. Even in Salus technology was still highly valued and people would do a lot to get their hands on it.
The division between the people on the outskirts of the world was clear and while Shay didn’t care for the politics of it all, she did care about being protected. Which in the interest of self preservation she aligned herself more with the Scrappers and Junkers. As she aged she was still small and scrawny and while that aided her in going unnoticed it also was her downfall when things went south. “Always carry a knife with you!” and “You’re fast so use that to your advantage.” Or “If you get into a sticky situation just go for the throat.” Words of advice from these friends she made along the way, if you could call them that. By having some sort of an alliance it provided a means of a safety net later on. It also meant more opportunities for jobs and thus far it’s worked up until now.
Shay would say she’s more of a freelancer rather than a thief. A dealer even, because she gives people what they want for a price. Make no mistake just because she herself hates Meridian tech and everything Soteria stands for doesn’t mean she won’t exploit their failures for the right price. Everything has its price these days, even Shay.
Headcanons
Shay dresses extremely androgynous and likes to cover up as much as possible. She views life as one big game of survival and has never needed to show off her assets as others might. This is especially important because since she is quite literally putting herself in dangerous situations and passing off as a different gender could be useful if anyone was trying to come after her.
Vices aren’t hard to come by in Salus and she is no exception to the rule. It would be a cold day in hell if you didn’t find the woman with a cigarette dangling from her lips or the smell of smoke not emanating from her clothes. The woman smokes almost a pack a day. She claims it’s so she doesn’t kill anyone but it’s really because she’s addicted.
It is no secret that Shay has a deep seated hatred for Soteria and she isn’t afraid to voice those opinions. When she’s in the city she constantly mutters about the extravagance of all the fancy tech that isn’t contributing anything to society. Don’t get her started on one of her rants unless you’re ready for a lot of bullshit with only the tiniest bits of fact thrown in, girl is biased.
The oculus tech was never implanted into her as a kid so she’s never experienced that but has seen firsthand what it can do if misused. She has a weird affinity for knowing how the tech works but also hating it at the same time.
You don’t tell people you’re not okay,“ she said, “because it’s hard watching them not know what to do. Then you end up comforting them, even though you were the one who needed comforting.
S.Z. // Excerpt from a book I’ll never write #222 (via blossomfully)
