Too Tough to Die

By now I assumed I'd be wearing a clean white medical coat and working at a hospital in Manhattan. Instead I'm here in rural Georgia just trying to stay alive as the world changes around me. [Independent The Walking Dead OC Roleplay Blog]

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Healing [Emily & Charley]

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bentxxnotbroken:

Charley watched as the child obeyed her mother and left the room. She never minded questions or hearing other people speak. If they  were speaking, it meant she didn’t have to, but this woman felt genuine, and it set her immediately on ease. She lifted her arms so that the doctor could do her job. She was just going through the motions right now. And probably would be until she got some sleep.

She looked up meeting her eyes and gave her a slight smile. She nodded. “Sometimes I think that is all I do is talk about him,” she admitted. “It just hasn’t gotten any easier.” But what could anyone that wasn’t a parent themselves know about losing a child?

Charley’s lips quivered.  The loss of the children at the prison was still just too fresh for her to face, so she went with Sammy. She cleared her throat when the sound wouldn’t surface. “He…he was killed. Not long after my husband. The walkers took him right out of my hands.” She held up her hands like she was still trying to make sense of it.

Emily placed a comforting hand on the other woman's shoulder.  "I wasn't able to have my own children...wasn't really in my agenda, but those girls were abandoned by their parents, maybe not on purpose, but they had nobody and kids can't..." she paused hoping it didn't sound like she was trying to downplay the other woman's struggles, "I'm sorry...my story isn't really your concern right now." 

Emily tried to remain in silence as she continued the examination, the last thing she wanted was to make the other woman think she didn't care or wasn't listening to her problems.  After a few minutes of examining the other woman in silence not making eye contact she looked up and added "I'm truly sorry about your son and husband.  They didn't deserve any of this."

Stepping back she added with a smile"I think you're as healthy as a person can be in this situation.  As soon as the girls come back with the honey for your lips, I'll be out of your hair."

[thedoctorispresent]

Healing [Emily & Charley]

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Charley managed to get out of her shirt before the children’s noise had gone to a distracting octave. She paused at the button on her jeans as she toed off her shoes. She gave a slight shrug. She was used to children at the prison. They usually livened her up more than brought her down, but today, she was just too warn thin. She let out a soft sigh before managing to get out of her jeans. 

Her panties were simple cotton. Same with her bra. She barely had anything to cover anyway. But as the door opened and the doctor and one of her daughters entered the room, she suddenly felt even more exposed than she truly was. She covered herself slightly as the child began to rattle off question after question. 

Her Sammy had been an inquisitive youngster, and she missed him terribly. Her eyes pricked with unshed tears. Her lips gave a slight quiver. “No. It’s alright. It’s not their fault that they want to know everything. It’s how we grow.” She managed to lean forward slightly so that her feet were on the floor, steadying her. 

"I had a little boy. Little bit younger than you. You’re five? Six, right?" She gave the girl an encouraging smile even though her own heart was shattering once again. It seemed that was all she did anymore. Put the pieces back together only to have them shattered in even smaller and smaller pieces.

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Blissfully and childishly unaware of how hard it seemed to be for the woman to talk, Libby continued her babbling.  However, Emily immediately noticed the tears pricking at the other woman's eyes.  The last thing she wanted was to appear to be a harsh guardian in front of the stranger, but it couldn't be more obvious that the child's prying was too much.

Plastering her face with a forced smile Emily turned to her daughter.  "Libby, I think you need to go help your sister, she's going to have trouble carrying everything." as soon as the little girl had bounded out of the room, she turned back towards the stranger.  "You know, if you want to cry I'm not going to judge you.  Everybody in this camp has been through some horrible things, both before and after the outbreak.  It doesn't help to hold it in." Emily paused before continuing, "Look at me, I'm barely thirty five and I've got too many gray hairs to count."

Emily stopped speaking, realizing she was probably talking too much.  The little ones, especially Libby loved to be involved in constant conversation, it seemed to make them feel safer.  Because of this Emily had often found herself continuing speaking even on the more mundane topics, however this woman could possibly feel patronized by the excessive almost babbling.  Still, as she checked the woman for bites, she hoped the stranger would feel comfortable enough to not feel the need to keep everything bottled up emotionally around her, from past experience Emily knew it could be toxic to keep emotions bottled up.

[rpaskboxmemes-deactivated202004]

based off of my blog, what other characters could you see me roleplaying as ?

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30 Days of Character Development

15.) Is your character an early morning bird or a night owl? 

Emily is more of an early morning bird and prefers to be up with the sun to work around the "medical bay" of Terminus.

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30 Days of Character Development

14.)  How does your character react to temperature changes such as extreme heat and cold? 

When Emily first moved to Georgia she had trouble with the fairly mild, snowless winters and she still isn't completely used to them.  Although she has in the past claimed it's not a "real winter" having lived in both New York and Georgia she is more used to some of the weather changes than others might be.

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30 Days of Character Development

13.) What does your character’s bed look like when he/she wakes up? Are the covers off on one side of the bed, are they all curled around a pillow, sprawled everywhere? In what position might they sleep?

Emily's bed (which like most beds in Terminus is just a mattress with blankets on it) often ends up in a disarray because her "daughters" are often crawling into bed with her and their "father".  Emily tends to cuddle in her sleep and often sleeps on her side pressed against Thomas's chest.

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Headcanon

After walkers broke into the daycare where Emily was helping protect the children she went into a deep depression for several weeks.  She barely ate anything and constantly cried herself to sleep, and if she'd been traveling alone she probably wouldn't have survived this period.  However, when she thought no one would care, one of the Hell's Angels members actually stepped in to care for her and the remaining two children.  Although Emily at first resented the excessive attention, she now admits that he very likely saved her life.

[thedoctorispresent]

30 Days of Character Development

12.) How is your character with technology? Super savvy, or way behind the times? Letters or email? 

Emily is pretty savy with technology and can easily operate computers and tablets etc.  E-mail is easy for her.

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Healing [Emily & Charley]

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bentxxnotbroken:

Charley watched as she settled into her work. It showed how comfortable she was in her given field. Pretty much like Charley had been in at teaching first at Woodbury then in at the Prison. She let her shoulders sag as she waited for the woman to begin her examination.

Her lips quivered as the woman checked her eyes first. She was certain that the woman would find her eyes clear. She hadn’t been bitten or scratched. And her exam would show exactly that. She wasn’t about to fight it.

She tried to focus on the doctor’s words. Then realization dawned on her. That’s where she had seen him before. “Thought I recognized him,” she admitted. 

"He had a pretty memorable campaign ad." Emily conceded.   "I hate to make you uncomfortable, but I'm going to have to ask you to strip down to your underwear so I can check for bites.  We can..." before she could finish, Emily heard the loud sound of childish arguing outside.  She was more than used to her two "daughters" going back and forth like real sisters, but she wondered if the bickering children would bother the newcomer.

"I'm sorry.  I don't know what they're fighting over this time..." pausing the examination she walked over to the door..."Can you two stop arguing please?"  After a few minutes of trying to negotiate with the children, Emily was able to send Frankie, the older of the two off to retrieve the honey for the stranger's lips.  However, Libby followed her back into the shed and perched herself on a hospital bed opposite the other woman without waiting for permission.

"Hi, I'm Libby...what's your name?  Do you have a family?  My friend Amie has a mommy but no daddy, my daddy says the deadheads got him."  

Emily turned to glare at the six year old hoping that she'd recognize the cue to be silent and spare any discomfort.  "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer any of her questions...she's just a very inquisitive child." 

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30 Days of Character Development

11.) Is there an animal you equate with your character? 

A swan, she's graceful and loyal.

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30 Days of Character Development

10.) Can you define a turning point in your character’s life? Multiples are acceptable. 

One of Emily's big turning points was taking the hospital job in Atlanta, from this she learned to be more independent.  Before the bikers broke into the hospital, Emily had found herself judgmental of people with tattoos and didn't trust them at all.  Now, after this second turning point she is in a close romantic relationship with a man she would have once shunned and ignored.

[thedoctorispresent]

30 Days of Character Development

9.)  Who does your character trust?

After the outbreak, Emily wasn't sure if she'd find herself ever trusting anyone again, but she found herself eventually trusting the Hell's Angels who broke into the hospital.  Now she also trusts some other members of the camp as well.

[angieflynns]

[angieflynns]

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30 Days of Character Development

8.) Day of Favorites! What’s your character’s favorite ice cream flavor? Color? Song? Flower? 

Ice Cream: Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Buns

Color: Lavender

Song: Ghost Train by Marc Cohn

Flower: Calla Lily

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Healing [Emily & Charley]

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bentxxnotbroken:

Charley managed to get her legs to working on their own. The water had done a great deal at rejuvenation. Or that could simply be because she wasn’t alone anymore. It always helped to have people around you. Even if they were strangers. She knew that they couldn’t be any worse than the Governor and his people. Or she hoped that they weren’t. “I can walk,” she assured her.

She let the woman lead the way, glancing back every so often to see that they were truly being left alone. She felt uneasy with everyone staring at her. Her lips were still dry and very painful. “You don’t happen to have chapstick or something that would work, do you? My lips were bleeding earlier they were so dry.”

She stepped into the shed, glancing around. It looked ominous, but it was better than nothing. And since the end of the world, when did you get the chance to really be picky? She felt herself running out of steam quickly. “Can I please sit down?” She felt out of breath.

Emily stopped walking and turned back to the other woman, gesturing to a nearby hospital bed. "Sit.  I'll get some honey for your lips."  she paused before adding "It's not exactly something I learned in med school, but it works as a home remedy and I don't think we've ever had chapstick here at Terminus."

There was an uncomfortable silence, and as she gathered the necessary medical supplies Emily decided to try to make conversation.  "You know, before all this, I worked at a big hospital in Atlanta." pulling out a small flashlight she added "I need to check your eyes."

After she'd finished with the eye check she continued her attempts to make the other woman comfortable in conversation. "You know, your new friend was a United States Senator."

[thedoctorispresent]

30 Days of Character Development

7.) Is there one event or happening your character would like to erase from their past? Why? 

The day the daycare was broken into by walkers.  She tried so hard to get everybody out, but very few of the children were actually able to escape and two of the bikers she had been helping to protect the daycare were killed.  It's still the biggest bloodbath she's seen and she is often haunted by it and wonders if she could have done anything differently.  At times she also wishes she hadn't took the residency at the hospital in Atlanta, but her distaste for the racism she suffered pales in comparison to the first event listed.