☠ — don’t open, dead inside ! oh, wait ! that’s just victoria johnston, you know, the female scout in the mountaintop community ? she is twenty - five years old and looks a lot like lindsey morgan, but i mostly just see them wielding a revolver. now that you mention it, i don’t think i’ve ever seen them without their sketchpad. which makes sense, since they seem to remind everyone else in their group of tattered sneakers, oversized jackets, and burnt cigarettes. well, hurry up and let them in ! we can’t leave them for the walkers ! — ( bellamy. twenty-two. est. she & her. )
hello ! i’m bellamy and it’s been a hot minute since i was in a group ( i tend to fade out of the group scene and then bounce back in for a bit ). i’m an angst addict and i work as a caregiver for mentally disabled adults. i work a lot of different hours and i’m on at weird times. pls be my friend. anyway, tori ( who does not like to be called victoria ) is my baby. made her a little over a year ago and she got put on the back burner, but she’s been completely reworked for this rp. pls love her. if you want to plot, like this or hmu.
notes
tori is a bit slow to open up, pretty snarky, and a little distrustful. she’s got a few walls that were mostly erected over the course of a rough adolescence. she’s also got a sense of humor that’s mostly sarcastic and tends to be more playful than anything with those she’s come to trust. she’s also very resourceful and quick on her feet.
this isn’t something that’s generally known, because she has a deep - rooted fear that if it becomes public knowledge, she’ll be removed from her role in the community and possibly left at the mercy of the outside world, but she would probably be considered medically fragile. chronic pain in her back due to a childhood injury, in addition to this, she’s got a bad heart. her mother was told that it was likely to give out by the time she was twenty, but she’s twenty - five now and still going. her heart isn’t as weak as some, but it won’t tolerate overloads of stress. neither of these are things that she’s shared with her companions or with the doctors here, though she definitely should have.
bio
born in northern georgia, tori grew up in a family that was very poor, in no small part due to her mother’s drug use. she had a brother, nine years older than she, and a sister four years younger. her brother was her best friend, provider, and dearest companion throughout her life.
her father walked out around the time her sister was born. for most of her childhood, her mother’s addiction took her out of commission and her brother provided for the three of them as best he could, picking up little odd jobs here and there, stealing what he couldn’t buy for them. tori was a bright child, very resourceful, and by the time she was six, she was helping him out and stealing food for the youngest. when she was ten, her mother got clean and things got better little by little.
as a teenager, tori picked up an after - school job at a garage to put food on the table ( and it was in the first few months here that she received her back injury ). her brother was long gone, having enlisted in the military, and while he did his best to help out where he could, her paychecks definitely helped out. she went full time at the garage when she graduated high school and put college on the back burner, telling herself that she’d go when her sister was able to get out of the house too.
when everything officially went to hell, tori went straight from the garage to her mother’s house. when she arrived, she found that her mother was acting strange, going after her sister. later, she would understand that she had turned already, that there had never been a chance of saving her, and she would bury that guilt deep in her heart so it couldn’t hurt her anymore. she broke into her brother’s gun cabinet and shot the thing that had been her mother in the back of the head.
it didn’t save her sister, who had been bitten by her mother. they didn’t know yet what the bite wound meant, and tori only wrapped it up as carefully as she could. they were only gong to stay in the house for the night, see what things looked like in the morning. her sister turned overnight, and tori was forced to put a bullet in her too. she wasn’t strong enough to get them both outside and bury them, so she burned them. seemed safer that way, anyway, now that the dead were rising. she hadn’t heard from her brother in a week when the shit hit the fan, and there was no way to contact him after. she has no idea what became of him.
she traveled alone for a while. survived as best she could, but she was relieved when she found the mountaintop community. she is immeasurably grateful that they took her in -- she almost certainly wouldn’t have survived without them.
wanted connections
all of them tbh? friends. i would love for her to just have some Friends. or a love interest, tbh. would love to see her brother as well if anyone wants to make him.
❛ you’re an angel. ❜ beka said with a small laugh, taking the lighter back and dropping it into the pocket of her jacket. ❛ i’ll believe it because you asked me to. everything you’d hope to have a surplus of seem to be the things we find the least of. ❜ a grim notion, yes, but realistic nonetheless. ❛ while you’re out, can i ask you to keep an eye out for something ? ❜ questions like that usually led to abuses of power and even as the words left her mouth, beka knew that special requests, though not uncommon, could look bad coming from a leader. ❛ well, really anything. my daughter’s birthday is coming up and if you find pencils, a sketchbook, a brick of printer paper. anything really, i’d appreciate if you could bring it back. ❜
awkward special request or not , tori isn’t perturbed by it. they all need something or other to keep them going these days , and a bit of art material isn’t exactly a huge request. “ yeah , sure , no problem , ” she says , bringing the cigarette to her lips. “ i’ll keep an eye out. ”
she lets their fingers brush, leaves her hand a little too long for the task when tori passes back the jar. she grins, almost a little shyly, running a hand through blonde hair before responding, “ i’m going a little stir crazy around here — can i tag along? it’s almost the holidays. how sweet would securing some canned cranberry be?”
“can’t brag about that — california’s got red mud, too.” she feels the slightest hit to the heart, remembering that she’ll never know what california resulted in. “i bet the walkers in california all have hawaiian shirts, and say duuuuude.”
an apologetic little shrug. “ you know i’d love to have you along , but you might wanna talk to the bosses about that. don’t wanna tell you one thing and then have them say another , y’know. ”
she laughs , shifting forward to rest her arms against her knees and hide the flare of back pain that this position had apparently invited. “ if that’s what the walkers there are like , i don’t even wanna think about the ones in georgia. god. ”
there were a few things that beka always kept on her person, a lighter being one of them. one constantly rode in the pocket of her jacket. fishing it out, she held it out towards tori. ❛ just make sure i get it back. ❜ beka offered with a small smile. she didn’t smoke herself as she really only kept it for burning away loose threads and lighting fires as needed. ❛ if you can find packages of them, still, try to keep them as intact as possible. most of those lighters can last indefinitely when they’re well taken care of. ❜
“ oh yeah , don’t worry. only need it for a second. ” sure enough , lighter is handed back a beat later. a rueful little sigh, flicking a bit of ash onto the ground as she speaks. “ you wouldn’t believe how hard they’ve been to come by. wouldn’t think they’d be in such short supply , but here we are. ”
IT WAS GOING TO BE A GOOD DAY and colby was nearly relentless with his mindset of keeping his positivity up. every day was a potentially good day with his standing in the mountaintop community. however, at the prospect of another group heading beyond the walls, his positivity had a crinkle. that always meant that his skills were being threatened of use - which always made him nervous. “hey yourself,” colby said cooly as he looked in the direction of tori. “yeah sure.” reaching into his pocket, colby pulled out a white lighter as he handed it over to her. “always heard conspiracies about white lighters bein’ cursed, so be careful with that.” he was joking, of course - about the conspiracy theory.
“ thanks , man. ” tori lights up , taking a long drag and breathing a sigh of relief as she hands the lighter back over. “ well , now you’ve got my attention , ” she says , lifting a brow. “ cursed , huh? conspiracies? i’m intrigued. never heard that one. ”
“ you came to the wrong person , bud .” reggie offered out a small sigh following a shrug. “ i don’t smoke, and they took away my match privileges after i accidentally set my sleeve on fire that one time.” she admitted, “i can only use them while out on patrol and, slash, or in case of an emergency . it’s outta my hands .” she frowned, pursing her lips in thought. “ oh ! in girl scouts i learned how to start a fire with a magnifying glass - - i don’t have one of those, but i do have …” she trailed off, taking off her oversized round glasses, the ones with the diagonal crack down the left frame. “ … my unfortunately HIGH prescription looking devices.” she sung, “worth a shot, hm?”
a huff of laughter answers her words , and tori shakes her head , slipping the cigarette back into her pocket hastily. “ i forgot all about that , but somethin’ tells me that if they took away your match privileges , they aren’t gonna want you starting fires with your glasses. you sure you wanna try that? ”
“ouch!” she reacts dramatically, pretending to lose her balance by wobbling on the bucket. “clearly those extra scouting missions have been good to you.” which, reminds her. “when are you going out next? pantry could use a replenish.” and because she could never not be annoying, “and since lavender honey seems to be a hit… i’m sure another batch is necessary.”
always greedy for more conversation, she asks, “whatever, if it’s an LA thing, then i’ll happily claim it. what’s georgia got to brag about? and don’t say peaches, that’s just predictable.”
“ tomorrow , i think. got anything specific in mind? ” tori dips another cracker into the honey and then passes the little jar and the rest of the crackers back , humming thoughtfully. laughter has faded for the most part , but amusement is still plain in her eyes.
“ what does georgia have to brag about ... lots of trees , red mud. and , you know , probably a ton of walkers around my area now. it’s a real winner. ”
SHE SEEMED NICE ENOUGH – not that a few words and an overall ‘vibe’ was enough to decide these sorts of things, but it was better than nothing. claire didn’t have one of the rougher jobs in the site, though she often wondered if she even had it in her to overcome those sorts of obstacles. empty libraries and bright white labs were where she belonged and the prospect of having to fight off one of those things scared her more than anything. ❝ cot’s been broken for about a week now… i’m not sure if you’re able to help out, but i could use a set of hands? ❞
“ yeah , i can probably fix it for you. ” while cars are had once been her area of her expertise , she’s pretty good with her hands , decent with fixing little things here and there. “ wanna show me what’s wrong with it? ”
hand MOUNTED on his weapon while he’s MOVING from point to point, ill-trusting of his surroundings; all it would have taken was one BREACH one crack, one rogue civilian & whatever bits of normality they had would have been waived. the others voice DEFINITELY caught him by surprise, as a finger swept over his trigger. a faint laugh parts his lips as he reaches into his pocket. “ how long you been saying THAT for ? pretty sure you’ve used all my matches. ” the man quipped, removing a well-used box of matches, swiping one across the gritted top & extending it to the girl. “ you ready for the next LEAVE ? ”
“ hey , hey , you’re not supposed to call me out on my shit. ” a huff of laughter as she accepts the light and mock - salutes him. “ god , you’re awesome. i ever tell you i love you? ” drawing a few steps closer and taking a drag from her cig , she glances around. guardsman isn’t a position she envies him. “ hell yeah i’m ready. had about enough of cabin fever. ”
an inkling of butterflies erupt into her stomach, but cj pushes them down. her lips quirk up into a grin, and she lets tori talk her trash. smoothly, and without hesitation, she replies, “i wouldn’t kill a pretty girl.”
“but i guess that doesn’t really work in your favor, huh?” but she can’t even fully finish her sentence without laughing. “what, have you never had artisanal honey before? it was all the rage in LA before, well, ya know.” she hands over the small jar, as well as some crackers. “are your hands clean? i don’t want you sticking your dirty fingers in there.”
tori hates that warmth spreads through her chest at the words , and she only hopes to god that she isn’t blushing. jesus. and then , when cj continues , the blush dissipates and she laughs instead , leaning over to give the other girl an elbow to the ribs.
“ jesus , no , i’ve never had that. sounds like an la thing. yeah , yeah , they’re clean. scout’s honor. ” she eyes the jar with mock wariness for another second or two before giving in and dipping one of the crackers in. the taste is a pleasant surprise , to say the least. “ oh -- it’s good. shit. ”
SMOKING WAS A HABIT HE SWORE HE’D NEVER PICK UP , several months with the mountaintop led him toward it —— wary at first but quickly adopted . now he sought packages when out on trips , feeding the addiction that settled his perturbation . as tori approached and requested a light , he stuck the stick between his lips and fished the tattered flip lighter from his pocket , then held it out to her . “ found mine in a car , suppose i got lucky . but you could probably find a little pack of matches around these parts ? i’ll keep an eye out too , ” matteo offered with a shrug , then pinched the cigarette between his fingers and blew out a cloud of smoke , back pressing against the wall behind him .
“ never thought lighters would be so damn hard to come by. seems like everyone is after them. guess i’ll try to check out a gas station or something when we go out. ” a sigh as she accepts it and lights her cigarette , handing it back and leaning back against the wall beside him. “ what’re you up to today? ”
LOCATION: mountain top community, makeshift garden house/garden area
after surfing, cooking had been claire’s favorite pastime — she would often scour the internet, watching endless videos on how to make things like homemade pasta using simple ingredients. caught up in using it as a romantic tactic, she could have never pieced she’d use those recipes this deeply in survival.
today’s concoction was a lot more simple than pasta: lavender honey. she had already ripped the purple buds from the stalk and dropped them into the gooey liquid, when she heard someone enter the space. she only half craned her neck to acknowledge the person, still seated on the flipped over bucket she was using as a chair. “yo! right on time. wanna taste this and let me know if it sucks?”
she only comes through here to see cj , if she’s being honest with herself. amused honey hues flick to the gooey liquid , crinkling her nose as she overturns another bucket and sits on it , mirroring the other girl’s position. “ depends , ” she teases in return , leaning over to get a better look at the concoction. “ you trying to poison me with that? know we usually all like your cooking , but that’s looking questionable. who’s to say you haven’t been trying to poison us all the whole time? ”
SHE WAS LUCKY TO BE THERE – CLAIRE knew that. after all, she had to prove her worth to be accepted in the first place. if it wasn’t for her education, she may have been out on her own right about now… pity, she thought, that such a beautiful green horizon might have been hiding those monsters. she sighed, lither fingers tucking golden brown hair behind her ear as she focused back on the pages in her hand. who knew that there would be teachers during all of this, but claire supposed that it at least gave the site a sense of normalcy. however today was rather slow, and the grey skies weren’t doing much for her nerves. eyes glanced up at the nearest face, and claire gave a small wave to flag them down. ❝ hey! ❞ she started, making her way over to them with a quicker pace. ❝ hey, you free right now? ❞
headed through the buildings on her way back to her own room , tori is stuffing the remains of an all - too - dry sandwich into her mouth , half wishing she had just skipped out on eating after all. the movement catches her attention and she half turns , lifting a brow and wiping her hands on her jeans. “ hi , ” she greets , though said greeting sounds more of a question than anything. “ sure , i guess. what’s up? ”
it’s almost time to head out again , and that has tori in high spirits. leaving is always risky , obviously , but she has tendencies to get cabin fever all too easily. “ hey ! ” she greets when she spots the other , striding across the open space and promptly hauling herself atop the nearest surface , drawing a cigarette from the pocket of tattered jeans as she settles. “ got a light? mine’s busted. fucking sucks. gotta try and scrounge up a new one when we head back out. ”
send the corresponding symbol(s) for headcanons surrounding the given topic(s)!
🍍 : how comfortable is my muse in their body? how do they feel about their height, weight, strength, and body type? how important is being attractive to them?
🍅 : how does my muse feel about plastic / cosmetic surgeries & procedures? is it something they have done or would do? do they mind if others do it?
🍏 : how stable is my muse’s physical health? do they go for regular or semi-regular checkups by a physician? do they have any diagnosed illnesses and / or take any medication? how often do they get sick?
🍎 : how stable is my muse’s mental health? have they been diagnosed with any mental illnesses and / or conditions? do they have any undiagnosed mental illnesses and / or conditions? do they or should they attend therapy?
🍑 : how meticulously does my muse look after their physical appearance? do they spend a lot of time on their hair, makeup, grooming, and clothing? is there a particular reason why they do or don’t?
🍒 : how much does my muse value companionship? do they constantly keep people around them, or do they prefer to be alone often? do they have or desire to have many friends? do they see every meeting as an opportunity to make a new friend?
🍇 : how would my muse describe their childhood? how much has it impacted the person they are now, or will become as an adult? around what age did they or will they start to mature, and why? do they wish to go back to their days as a child, or have they embraced adulthood?
🍐 : how intelligent is my muse overall? are they smarter than the average person, or less than? are they primarily self-taught, or did they acquire most of their knowledge in school? are they more street smart or book smart?
🍉 : which of the four seasons suits my muse best, and why?
🍌 : is my muse inclined to help others, or will they only do it when it benefits them, if at all? what makes them this way? has it ever gotten them into trouble, or inconvenienced them?
🍊 : does my muse desire romance? is it something they would actively seek out, or prefer to happen more ‘ naturally? ’ what is their love life like? do they have any exes or past flings, or crushes?
🍓 : how is my muse typically seen by others? does it ring true to who they really are? does their reputation matter to them?
🥝 : does my muse have any ‘ unusual ’ habits, interests, and / or talents? do they hide it, or are they proud of it?
🍋 : what kind of diet does my muse have? do they eat regularly, or the standard 2-3 meals a day? do they have to be reminded to eat, or are they likely to remind others? do they cook, or have others cook for them? do they eat healthily, or not so much?
🥭 : how important to my muse is their hometown, or where they’re from? are they proud of it, or considered a hometown hero? did they move away, or do they wish to?
