𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑜𝑚.

𝙽𝙾 𝙿𝚄𝚂𝚂𝚈 𝙳𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙺𝚂. 𝚅𝙾𝙳𝙺𝙰 𝙾𝙽𝙻𝚈.

[svetlna]

#𝐒𝐕𝐄𝐓𝐋𝐍𝐀, independent + canon redirected svetlana milkovich of showtime's shameless. exploring unhappy themes such as the effects of sex trafficking & toxic relationships, as well as the far happier themes of marrying rich & finally getting what you deserve.

𝐀𝐋𝐒𝐎 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐍: ABJECT, LAIDBEAR, 92328.

[svetlna]

It's a sad day in the Milkovich household . . . JK, she doesn't even live there anymore. The tldr of this situation is that, though I've tried to scrounge up interactions, the shameless rp fandom was killed by some not so fun people many years ago, and since that's where most writing for Svet would be most convenient I've found it hard to find more than 2 or 3 people willing to write with her regularly. Because of this, Svet will be, FOR THE TIME BEING, moved over HERE to my multi. Ideally she will end up back on her own blog eventually, but until then I hope to see you over there!

[miidnighters-a]

As a matter of fact, it was a lifestyle that took Bella hundreds of years to obtain, so Svetlana shouldn't feel too slighted that she hasn't been able to achieve the same thing. In fact, they're probably very similar, these two women, in the things they've had to do to survive.

Bella falls into step as she's led towards the Chinese place - a wry smile on her face at the question.

Curry chips had been invented long after the vampire had moved to the States, so she herself hadn't enjoyed it - but she knew exactly what to say to make it seem like she had.

"Yes and no. Curry chips are more often found in fish and chip shops, but those shops are largely owned by immigrants who then expand the menu into Chinese food. So you're mostly right, I guess. Have you ever had it?"

[svetlna]

To any lover of curry chips, the speed at which Svetlana began to shake her head would surely be seen as an insult -- as the woman hadn't tried, and WOULDN'T be trying, the odd mix of cuisine. Russia may have had their share of questionable culinary endeavors, but even they hadn't managed to stoop that low.

❝ 𝐧𝐨. 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐢'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. ❞ Though some were oddly sentimental about the food from their own regions of the world, Bella hadn't given any indication that she would be that specific type of over sensitive, which had Svetlana feeling comfortable enough to speak the truth ; the truth being how lucky she felt to have avoided such a sloppy mess.

❝ 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬? 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 -- 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤. ❞

[socialseasons]

Swallowing down her discomfort as Svetlana explained the nature of her own job, Francesca nodded -- She had heard rumours, of course, but there was still a part of her that thought perhaps it was all made up. Just silly little stories, as men were wont to tell, of beautiful women whom they had slept with or simply admired from afar.

"Is that...?" She stopped herself, chewing on her lower lip as she tried to think of the least offensive way to voice the question that had suddenly popped into her head. "Forgive me, but... if you don't make much money from it, why do it at all?"

Maybe it was something that she just wasn't able to understand, but which made perfect sense to others. After all, she knew of women who had ventured down that avenue, and yet she herself had never even needed to consider it.

"It surely cannot be... enjoyable."

[svetlna]

The why of it all was not only difficult, but borderline impossible to answer ; because it ran in the family, because she was forced into it, because it was all she had ever known, because it felt too late to turn back now -- all responses which would have been truthful, but not worth the follow-up questions they were likely to invite. Instead, another shrug was offered, nonchalant and numb as so many of Svetlana's gestures were.

❝ 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐝. ❞ She began to explain, tone almost coming across as believable. ❝ 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 -- 𝐬𝐨 𝐢 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐝. ❞ Now, did making the choice to take the good with the bad mean that Svetlana was moments away from suggesting the same career path to Francesca? Absolutely not, the thought hadn't even crossed her mind, and given the vibe she was receiving from the other it was clear that it would have been a waste of her time to even broach the idea. ❝ 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 . . . 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭. ❞

[jo-constantine]

LOVE QUINN | 3.05 “Into The Woods”

[socialseasons]

A dubious look crossed the girl's face as she glanced towards Svetlana, wondering what on earth such a phrase could mean. Francesca could give over some of her savings, tucked away under her mattress, and maybe she could beg a loan from one of her brothers -- But what would her friend do? They both knew that Svetlana wasn't exactly rolling in cash.

"I..." No, she'd never worked, not properly. Not in a shop or delivering pizzas or anything that most people her age did to scrape together some money. "I teach music to some of the kids in town, but I'm not exactly earning Rockefeller money with it. Do you?"

[svetlna]

The idea was foreign to her in more ways than one. The thought of not working was one thing ; it was a nice idea, the sort which many dreamt of. But it was the idea of having the choice not to work to begin with which filled Svetlana with something close to envy -- she didn't blame Francesca for having been given an easier ( comparatively ) life, but Svet knew that somewhere deep down she too would have liked to have the option to be job-free.

❝ 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬. ❞ She replied with a shrug. So long as money was being exchanged it could be considered a job of sorts, even if said money wasn't, as Francesca had put it, up to Rockefeller standards. When it came time for the same question to be thrown her way, Svetlana gave a nonchalant shrug as she gestured to her own body, surprised that Francesca hadn't already known but having no problem with sharing the information. ❝ 𝐢 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨 -- 𝐢 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞. ❞ And, after a pause, just for good measure, she added ; ❝ 𝐢 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲. ❞

[miidnighters-a]

The question stumps Bella, for a moment. When was the last time someone bought her food? Back when she was married, over 100 years ago maybe? That hardly counted, surely.

And she wasn't the type to fish for dinner dates.

Bella allows the removing of dirt to take all of their attention, before finally offering a practised smile as she nods.

"You're right. It has been a long time."

This is hardly what Bella would consider reciprocal favours, but she's not exactly entrenched in that way of thinking.

"After you, darling."

[svetlna]

It was the response which Svetlana had been expecting -- and while some would think it a shame that such a young, vibrant blonde wasn't being taken out for a free meal every weekend, Svetlana saw it as quite the power move. Being taken care of was all well and good so as you were fine with keeping your mouth shut and speaking only when spoken to ; but real freedom came with being able to take care of yourself without a second thought. Sadly, it was a lifestyle which few managed to reach.

With the other thoroughly cleansed of debris and seemingly ready to go Svetlana took the lead as they began the trek to the Chinese food which so loudly called her name, hands reaching up to tousle her own hair in an attempt to add volume ; ( as if there destination were somewhere other than an absolute butt-crack of a restaurant. )

❝ 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 . . . 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐲𝐞𝐬? 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞? ❞

[miidnighters-a]

"To fires." Bella agrees, raising her own imaginary glass in kind. it hadn't been the first house fire she'd set, nor the last, but that neither here nor there in terms of detail she's willing to share.

What she does do is stub out her cigarette, tucking the burnt out end back into the pack, for lack of a bin, and offering the same to Svetlana.

"Sure, Chinese sounds perfect." Bella hauls herself up off the ground from where she'd been sitting, brushing some probably very obvious dirt off her rear. "But you don't need to pay for me, darling. I can finance my own egg rolls, should it come to that."

But then, there was something to be said for letting someone else indulge their need to do something nice.

[svetlna]

Brows came to a peak as the other daintily disposed of her cigarette, Svetlana following the same routine if only because it felt as though maybe doing so would be fun ; a little something to spice up the routine which would normally have her adding to the abundance of butts already littering the city streets ( a large portion of which most likely belonging to her to begin with. ) -- & while Svetlana wholeheartedly believed that the woman who had moments earlier offered to pay her way out of the country could in fact afford her own cheap Chinese food, the money itself wasn't actually the point. It was all about reciprocation, making sure no favors were left on the table, imagined or otherwise.

❝ 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝? ❞ Svetlana would ask, offering an unsolicited hand when it came to making sure Bella was dirt free.

[socialseasons]

As Francesca gazed upon the photos that lit up on Svetlana's phone screen, she found herself imagining what it would be like to live in such a place: A penthouse apartment with a city view, shiny tabletops and a pool to dip into when the sun grew too warm. Her own home, although modest and rather pretty in comparison to many she knew, could not compare.

"How can we? I don't have enough for even half," she sighed, lips pursed as she tried to push the short-lived dream from her mind. "And I don't know. I've never stayed somewhere... well, like that."

[svetlna]

It was a question which Svetlana understood perfectly well, but it came from a place which she couldn't quite relate to. If she needed money for something which she deemed important enough to dwell on, the answer was easy ; the money would simply need to be made. Some way, some how, she would make it ( whatever it happened to be ) happen. ❝ 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. ❞ Her response came paired with a nonchalant shrug, a clear indication that her mind had been made up, and that one way or another they WOULD be getting the rental of their dreams ; the true cost was yet to be seen, but surely that cost, whatever it wound up being, wouldn't be worse than anything she had already endured in life.

❝ 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤? ❞

[svetlna]

i am once again asking the attempted comeback starter-call gang to rise up. ( aka like this post for a short starter while i try to become active over here again )

[svetlna]

Semi-annual I love Svet and am coming back . . . soonish, post.

[miidnighters-a]

Bella nods in understanding, as if that's not the most ridiculous sentence she's ever heard. Which is saying something, exaggerated as it is, given her age.

And wasn't Svetlana good at asking difficult questions? Or questions that should be difficult, if Bella wasn't spinning a web of lies, or if she did remember her actual grandparents.

"No. He was a beast. They died in a housefire when I was younger and I wasn't sorry when it happened." This is said frankly - objective truths, even if they were about the husband who taught her to write (who was old enough to have been at least her father, had she been human at the time) rather than a set of grandparents. Definitely franker than Bella might have been with anyone else who she thought might not have understood as well.

[svetlna]

A BEAST. How dramatic -- and not for even a moment did Svetlana believe that the other had been exaggerating with her choice of words. The world was full of monsters, and in Svetlana's experience those you were related to, whether it be by blood or marriage, were the worst of the lot.

❝ 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬. ❞ She would say, hand lifting an imaginary champagne flute as she raised a 'glass' to the flames which had surely made Bella's life far better. Fire was one hell of a way to go ; and yet it was still better than some deserved.

Though she hadn't been drinking something about the night air paired with cigarette smoke & talking to a stranger had put Svetlana in the mindset of some who had been, which could only mean one thing as far as she was concerned ; ❝ 𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 -- 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐚𝐨'𝐬? 𝐢'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 . . . ❞

[miidnighters-a]

Make no mistake - if Bella was in the same position as Svetlana, if she was anything other than what she was, she'd probably do the exact same thing. But being infallible tended to make one brave.

This, however, is followed by an interesting question that Bella's not sure she's ever been asked before. "Oh, thank you," She smiles, to buy herself a second. "But not catholic school, no. No nuns. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents when I was younger, and my grandfather insisted that if I was going to write I would learn how to do it properly. As if it mattered if my letters were printed or curved."

This wasn't entirely a lie - the kernel of truth was that it was a husband who had taught her to write, insisting that no lady of society should be illiterate. His methods were interesting and his insistence on things being proper chafed. Bella hadn't regretted that he died alongside his 'wife' in the house fire.

"I suppose it was just one of those habits that I never broke out of."

[svetlna]

A roll of her eyes, a look of understanding ; Svetlana didn't remember much about her own grandparents, but she knew enough to know that they weren't soft people -- though really, no one in her family could be considered soft, or warm, or loving, so it was hard to think back on her grandparents as either bad or good, they were just . . . there, existing just like the rest of them.

❝ 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐮𝐧𝐬. ❞ She would say, the thought fortune-cookie worthy at best, and laughable at worst. ❝ 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬? 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. ❞

[mickeygifs]

ah, it’s okay. i babysit.

[svetlna]

thinkin' about yevgeny's fat little wrists, hold my calls.

[socialseasons]

The moment that Svetlana's phone materialised, Francesca expected a sigh of defeat as she scrolled the options, the realisation that they wouldn't be able to act like royalty for a night. But as the seconds passed and her expression remained fixed, a glimmer of hope began to flicker in her chest.

A pretty nice time or a very nice time?

Francesca held out her hand for the phone, glancing at the options in disbelief -- God, this one even had a hot tub on the balcony! -- before her eyes settled on one that looked straight from a Vogue photoshoot.

"Look at this one," she prompted, shuffling closer to Svetlana so they could both huddle over the slideshow of photographs. "A hot tub and a TV that looks like a movie theatre. And look at the beds!" A wistful sigh left her lips at that, knowing that they could only afford one night there - Barely. "What I would give to live in a place like that."

[svetlna]

Huddles so close together, phone screen casting a slight glow on both of their faces, Svetlana was reminded of the sleepover scenes she'd seen on television growing up, reminded of how desperately she'd wanted to be a part of them. Her childhood wasn't one where any such thing would have been possible, if what she had could be considered a childhood at all -- though maybe now would be the time to make up for all she'd missed out on. It wouldn't fix what had been broken, but it could work as a brightly colored bandaid of sorts, a momentary fix to make the child still living deep within feel just a bit better.

❝ 𝐰𝐨𝐰, 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭? ❞ She asked with a smile, seeing that the other was clearly going with the option of having one very nice night instead of a mostly nice weekend. ❝ 𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 . . . 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞. 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐓𝐕𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. ❞

[svetlna]

forgetting an entire husband and where a last name came from + having to go in and change bio things is the biggest teehee moment.