dory’s not sure how her and leo both ended up at the bistro, but what she does know is that the kitchen has been temporarily abandoned and it’s a now-or-never moment to complete their mission: bake some christmas cookies. dory’s rusty at baking, though, but she’s sure that between the two of them they can create some sort of spectacular recipe... probably. staring at the empty space, she turns to leo with a grin. “ time for cookies ? ” she asks, an eyebrow posed in uncommon playfulness that really only surfaces when she’s with leo. “ although what type of cookies is also another question, ” she adds with a smile.
the beige carpets are all too familiar with the soles of her shoes, and theodora is sure that if someone examined the floor more closely, they’d find her footprints indented in the space right before marco’s door. she’s not sure how many times she’s done this before, waiting for his apartment door to open as she stares up at the plated numbers ( numbers she used to or still does identify as her second home ) . what she is sure of is that marco’s drunk calls had begun a rhythm she falls easily into, which always sends her to where she stands now. she can’t seem to discard the warming ache in the pit of her stomach that tells her to rush over here and make sure he’s okay and —
dory has a sudden urge to cut the flowers blooming within her that deny the snow upon them. a sudden urge to step away, because she knows that she really shouldn’t step into his apartment again, because she knows that he’ll probably be okay in the morning anyways—
the door swings open and she looks up to find the familiar face, theodora’s features instantly softening. she can’t help but look into his eyes, an infinite museum of all their memories. “ hey, you called, and i was worried, and so... i came, ” she explains, as if she hadn’t done this so many times before. she sweeps her habits underneath a rug, evidently ignoring her mind in favor of a heart threatening to burst. “ can i come in ? are you okay ? ”
send me 🍸 for a moodboard of our muses
send me 🍷 for an aesthetic of our muses
send me 🍹 for a short fanfic/headcanon of our muses
send me ☕️ for a mini playlist of our muses
Send “✆” for a MORNING text.
Send “” for a text that WASN’T SENT.
Send “☎” for a RUSHED text.
Send “⁇” for a DRUNK text.
Send “✿” for a SUGGESTIVE text.
Send “ø” for a LATE NIGHT text.
Send “✘” for a HATEFUL text.
Send “#” for a RANDOM text.
Send “@” for a SCARED text.
Send “&” for a LOVING text.
Send “%” for a CURIOUS text.
Send “ツ” for an EXCITED text.
Send “$” for an ACCIDENTAL text.
Send “♀” for a HEARTBREAKING text.
closed starter ／ @thvodora !
location: big bear school’s ice skating rink.
time: 12:30pm.
muses: ian & theodora.
when ian first applied to work at the big bear school, he didn’t think that one day he’d be walking into the ice skating rink and seeing her. her. /hər/ pronoun: a person from his past, a stranger who knew all of his secrets, his first crush, her. the meeting didn’t go as picturesque as it could’ve gone were ian’s life a romance novel. not even close. he rushed into the skating rink when she was in the middle of class and slipped before he could reach her, and then slipped a second time the moment he lifted her up mid-hug and nearly broke both of their skulls in the process. needless to say, his boss was not impressed by him.
it hasn’t gotten much better since then. he did fix his boss’s impression of him by being fantastic with children and never once clocking in late even if he was hiding a deadly hangover behind a pale smile. all things considered, ian is a wonderful employee. what hasn’t gotten much better is the situation with theodora. he doesn’t know how or when it happened exactly, but at some point during his three months of working there, dory started getting really annoyed with him. he knows that there’s been a shift in personalities that occurred in both of them during their time apart, but much like dory didn’t expect for ian to become a careless party boy, ian wouldn’t have imagined that dory could be a judgemental perfectionist.
it’s bad, but it doesn’t stop ian from showing up at the rink as soon as they’re on their break even if he tracks in the snow from outside. currently, he’s got his face shoved against the glass, making faces at dory’s class while they walk past and giggle at the stupid display in front of them. when dory begins to skate over, though, ian leans back and draws a heart on the glass. he smiles at her. “ i brought spicy ramen for us to eat and you cannot reject my offer. ”
the addition of a singular note shifts an entire rhythm and there's nothing theodora hates more than such an interruption to her routine. what do you do, then, if the music is not an addition, but a reappearance ? when you can no longer find the right hand positions for a melody you used to play with your eyes closed ? or the song you thought that had resurfaced, is in an entirely new key ?
it’s this confusion that has plagued theodora's head most recently, and it's perhaps the reason why she has ( unfairly ) been distant from ian recently. she was happy at first, to see him ungracefully slide across the ice to meet her -- she remembers vividly her grin reflected in his own, and the rush of nostalgia that cut the brisk air around them. it wasn’t long, though, before she could measure the space that time had put between them, replacing previous harmony with discordance. dory’s never been one to fear travel, and yet time was the only distance she hesitated to cross. perhaps what daunted her the most was ian’s personality, sweetness exchanged for a different taste -- one that reminded her too much of the one thing she tried to get away from.
of course, if she did not dare to bridge such a gap, the bridge would always find its own way upon her path. in this case, it happens at the ice rink, when she spots ian at the end of her shift, just as she finishes guiding her latest student around the rink. dory found an unexpected warmth to her job, joy blooming with every kid who did not fall during their session. so when she begins to skate over to ian, she can’t tell if her smile is from the heart upon the glass, or the way his face looks pressed up against it, or just the success of her latest class.
“ still a dork as ever, ” she teases beneath her breath as a greeting, although she knows that he inevitably heard her comment. her eyebrows lift at his statement.“ spicy ramen is the way to my heart, ” dory concedes, skating to the nearby exit and beginning to unlace her skates. when she finishes, she stands upright and grabs her coat.“ alright, where to ? and you better have gotten the spiciest ramen there is, ” she says jokingly. attempting to step away from her exasperation with the unknowns that exist between them, she adds, “ how was your shift, by the way ? ”
even past the lens of her glasses you can tell that callie was beyond tired. she overstretched herself and scheduled a few morning shifts in a row, but is obviously regretting it now. the girl was able to wake up a bit early and make a stop at the local coffee shop before starting her shift at work. callie tucked her hands into the pockets of her north face while she ordered a gingerbread latte ( a flavor on their seasonal menu ). she stepped back and waiting for her drink, letting her eyes wander. she locked eyes with dory and forced out a small smile. ‘ heading to work too ? ’, she curiously asked.
dory has always been an early bird, and so she finds it strange if she doesn’t stop by the dirty penguin on her way to work. in fact, her regular 7am visits have become so common she’s memorized just about all the baristas who work that shift. what she doesn’t expect, however, was the sight of callie. dory smiles in response, a bit sheepish from accidentally catching callie’s gaze. dory’s never felt shy, but she feels like hiding her face behind the other customers milling in the shop. ‘ yeah -- apparently there’s a full class today, so i’m excited, ’ dory replies, although the small talk still feels awkward on her tongue. the regret of her past attitude towards callie grazes over every word, however faint in theodora’s attempts to rebuild a friendship. ‘ how have you been ? ’ she asks lightheartedly, trying to keep the conversation going, ‘ ready for christmas ? ’
hello !! i’m luna, from the est, and i use she/her pronouns !! this is my baby theodora (aka dory but can also be called theo/thea/teddi/etc. skjdfjks) !! below i have a whole summary of her bio and personality, and also some ideas for connections if you’re into that !! if you’d like to plot, please message me on discord @luna#6219 or like this and i will come to you (most likely on discord, but tumblr im also works) !! if you have time to read things that are way too long, feel free to peek at her biography, statistics, personality traits, headcanons, pinterest, and playlist !! okay let’s dive in !
( lee ji-eun, cisfemale ) hey ! have you seen THEODORA KWON around ? SHE works as a ICE SKATING INSTRUCTOR at big bear resort, but they must be off their shift by now. well, if you do see them can you let me know ? they’re 20 years old & they’ve been working here for FOUR MONTHS. they tend to be +AMBITIOUS & +FASTIDIOUS, but can also be -DOGMATIC & -PREDICTABLE. the other employees have labeled them THE POLYMATH. thanks a lot ! ( delicate fingernails painted red grazing over a piano, wilted flowers resting in the sunlight, elaborate sand sculptures washed away by the tides, ripples in otherwise perfectly still water, & tea-stained book pages )
biography (tw: car accident)
theodora basically grows up w/ two controlling parents who are doctors, but she has a relatively ok childhood where she spends most of her time with her brother. she reads a lot, does well in school, takes some piano lessons, all that jazz
then her mother has an affair and so her parents divorce when dory’s 10 y/o and she’s pretty distraught, split between households. she’s especially spiteful of her mother and her mother’s boyfriend.
her brother leaves for harvard, which sets high expectations for her to excel similarly. but this absence + anger from the divorce + pressure to do well culminates into her accidentally falling into the Mean Girl™ clique at her high school. they basically rebel, party hard, and are super condescending to/basically bully others but all this peer pressure and social conformity is enough for her to ignore her Bad Behavior
she crushes on and later dates the whole ringleader of the clique’s/her bff’s crush. she’s so in love but then at a party she finds her bf + her bff kissing and its just rly bad. her bff has pretty much spread rumors about her, her boyfriend ridicules her, and dory’s effectively thrown out of the social circle.
now with an outsider’s perspective she realizes how terrible she’s been and succumbs to her guilt. she becomes super introverted and only sticks to studying hard and reading books and playing the piano. she tries to apologize to the ppl that she used to bully and tries to insert herself back into high school society but it doesn’t rly work
so she carries on like this, fighting with her parents yet adhering to their expectations + virtually outcasted but sticking to her studies. then her brother comes home over break and gets into a really bad car accident. he ends up being hospitalized and paralyzed waist down.
dory’s pretty angry so she ends up tracking the case and watches it happen in court, but the judge/jury/lawyers suck and nothing really happens to the drunk driver who caused the accident
this spurs her into an epiphany that she can right her wrongs and right these wrongs by becoming a lawyer herself, taking justice into her own hands. her parents hate the idea because they don’t think that dory has what it takes + try to persuade her not to, telling her it’s dangerous, unstable, time-consuming, etc. she doesn’t care anymore, though, and seeing how her brother has decided to take a gap year and travel, she frees herself from her parents and goes off to yale for pre-law.
then her dad is diagnosed with early on-set dementia and she decides to move closer to his home to take care of him. she transfers to a uni in colorado, and then gets a job at the resort to a) get that $$$ to help support her dad + her education and b) she’s gone to the resort b4 as like an annual family vacay and is a lil sentimental !
she visits her dad a bunch but it’s a lowkey secret, she feels slightly embarrassed and also is just generally quite private
so that’s it! she’s basically just a hell of a mess who still hasn’t forgiven herself for all her mistakes in high school and still feels like she needs to conform + control everything as much as possible + be “perfect” .... but more on that in the next part
personality
my gal dory is the . most . uptight perfectionist ever . she’s super detail oriented and will undoubtedly nit pick at everything she can, both about others + herself. she’s the type to always take control in a group project because a) it has to be done in a specific way for her and b) she doesn’t really trust other people with her grades.
she’s super pragmatic and is super frugal. she hates people who talk their way around things and would rather just have direct communication and be to the point. she’s so honest and brutally critical that it gets her into a bunch of confrontations but.. she doesn’t really mind it. she lowkey loves arguing and asserting her opinion (cause she thinks it’s correct), hence the whole lawyer thing
curious about everything and if you know her well she can ramble on about an insane amount of topics if you give her the time. but like if you know her well... don’t give her that time sdkjfnsk
stubborn and holds grudges, doesn’t forgive easily aka if you lose her trust it’s pretty hard to get it back. super hard to sway her in your favor/opinion. like try to get her to spontaneously go to a party night of? sorry she hasn’t factored it into her planner two weeks in advance and also she hates parties ksdnfgks
loves playing the piano!!! is currently trying to figure out how to dj!!! but she keeps it lowkey
learned to skate when she was pretty young!! by no means an olympic skater but she does like skating bc its v graceful and she loves 2 be on the ice
basically. self-critical, hates Fun, perfectionist who is the embodiment of an istj, enneagram type 1, slytherin, & capricorn sun so....... enjoy
this is a terrible summary please go read her headcanons + personality traits page its so much more well written skfnksndfvbs
wanted connections !!
here’s a link to a tag i have for some ideas and also here’s my connections page w/ some wanted connections but i’m down for anything we brainstorm!!
