chin tilts up to look victor in the eye , more attentiveness than is usually afforded to those around her . ‘ vic , mon cherie . —- look around you . ’ at the penis - shaped toys & other fun things that line the walls ! ‘ i speak about fulfillment , it’s practically free advertising . ’ loop hole , clearly ! miette moves swiftly & with grace , taking the bill he’s so shadily slid over to her & digging in her backpack for the small , sealed paper bag . ( the pot is in a plastic baggie inside the paper , she’s not a rookie ! ) ‘ i would rather be a jane doe forever . ’ though the thought brings a shiver down her spine : someone she cared for was nearly the one on the cold mortician’s table . ‘ —– anyway . here are the special condoms you ordered . ’ & she holds out the baggie to him , amusement sparking behind her eyes .
victor easily tilts his head down to match her gaze, never one to back down. what’s unusual about the sight is the grin on his face, but with mielle it comes with her banter. he follows her suggestion to look around them, a laugh obviously being suppressed as he does. it never fails to surprise him that this shop is just in the mall, not that he’s complaining. he doesn’t have many friends but he surely isn’t a prude. “i see your point, maybe i should give you a pass that says you can’t be written up for anything said in here,” he’s joking, but it would be interesting to see if something like that could ever fly. “i’d never let you be a jane doe,” he says, but doesn’t intend to continue that topic, it seems to upset her lately.
victor nods, about to grab it when he a thought occur to him. “if these are my extra small condoms, could you put them in a store bag?” he asks, flicking the bag to swing back towards her, hoping it gets a laugh. he really can’t tell how funny jokes are at times. “you know, brown baggies are a little suspicious, and store bags have handles” he adds with an exaggerated shrug, he’s absolutely a rookie at this.
Arthur was on autopilot that afternoon without a doubt. The fact that he was skateboarding down the middle of the mall was also probably the worst decision that could have been made along side that fact. His feet were hitting the floor rythmically, the speed consistent as well as his glazed over eye staring on forward as he went. He didn’t even register the pair of doors coming up on his left, and so when a door opened, it opened into him. crashing forward, his board fell from under him as he toppled forward into the door before landing on the ground. He took a good few seconds to register what had just happened before looking down to make sure he was alright. Physically alright, he saw the new hole pulled into his shirt from catching on the door handle during his little tumble. “Oh shit…” He mumbled before looking up to the other person. “ I uh….I guess karma decided I was going nips out today huh? Does this works aesthetically right?”
victor didn’t want to be insensitive, or maybe it was the stress from work being so busy alongside no novel progress. but… he couldn’t fathom how there was still so much do in terms of the department and new complaints day in and day out while there were killers about. still, he signed up for this so he was at the mall for the sixth day in a row, and only a few more hours away from a well deserved day off. even with three hours left, he had to talk to three more people, make some calls, and do paperwork. he rubbed his brow as he walked away from the janitor behind him, who just received his second stroke. his thoughts of treating himself to a coffee were sharply cut off as he opened the door and mayhem ensued. with a crash and flail of limbs, he had to take a step back to avoid being part of the accident. he heaved a deep sigh before looking down to assess the situation. first things first, “are you okay?” he asks, which is standard practice, and also human decency he supposes. then he points at the man, “you do know you can’t skateboard in the mall correct?” at least he’s almost positive it’s not allowed, and if it is he’ll have to try and fix that. “well, karma decided both nips was too cruel i suppose,” he remarked, moving his finger to point at the guys nipple still safely under the shirt. “no, get a new shirt. you look ridiculous.”
there was nothing like buying a brand-new book, layton thought to himself as he stepped out of the store, quickly offering a short wave before the door closed behind him. his shift had just ended at the pharmacy, and while the rest of the afternoon awaited him, he really just wanted to get dressed in something comfy, make himself a cup of tea or something, and read until it was dark outside.
but like all great plans, something has to step in the way of it. something, like a person… a person layton had not seen before walking out. “i’m so sorry,” he quickly called, stumbling back from the collision, “i wasn’t looking where i was going, it’s my fault.”
despite it being one of his days off, where he should be at home writing, victor found himself back at the mall. he had good reason this time though, he actually wasn’t wasting time for once. his brother had given him a book recommendation, and it was a rare occurrence that he did so. So of course, he left home immediately to come and search for said book.
and as his luck would have it, he takes a moment to check the time on his watch precisely as someone walks out of a new chapter. he rocks back for a moment from the force but is stable in a split second, though he does drop the paper with the book name on it. his gaze shifts down at the guy in front of him, “no...,” he says, saying his hand dismissively. “i was looking at the time, it’s my fault really,” he taps his watch and smiles easily. “you alright? not hurt anywhere?” he asks, eyes scanning the other for any obvious injuries.
‘ look —- i’m very happy & fulfilled in my job . i think it’s great & i really am a fan of the employee discount , ’ miette speaks thoughtfully , the slightest french accent bleeding into her words as it had since childhood . ‘ HOWEVER . if i get murdered and all i’m known for is being the thirty - something - year - old woman who worked in shop for sex toys …… truly , my family may never recover . ’
victor stops one step from the counter where Miette sits and raises a brow at her. “be careful with describing any fulfillment ---- you never know where HR is lurking,” he jokes, wiggling his fingers at her before dropping an elbow to rest on the counter. “please, if they make you known for that just haunt them, and it could be worse,” he slides a bill across to her while he says this, after glancing around. “imagine your obituary said you worked at the food court.” He does a mock shiver of disgust.
hey look, it’s victor donavon! they’re thirty eight years old, they’ve lived in shrike heights for 2 years, and they’re currently working as the hr director. i heard they’re pretty uncompromising, but i think they’re so passionate at the same time. can they make it out alive?
Victor Donavon, born in 1949, date unknown, in California. Adopted first son of Bernard and Carol Donavon, a wealthy couple in love. For the first 12 years of his life, Victor was the apple of his parents eyes. A genius when it came to academics and numbers, he received praise both in school and from family for his intellect. He got anything he wanted, and every summer was a trip somewhere new. Was he spoiled? Perhaps a bit, but who wouldn’t spoil their only child if they could
Everything came crashing down with the birth of his brother Jerimiah when he was 12 years old. Suddenly he wasn’t his parents pride and joy anymore, he felt more like an after thought than anything else after a few years. Nothing he did seemed to phase them, whether it was good or bad, he’d get a wave of the hand and some cash to solve his troubles. He was obsolete, an old model they didn’t need anymore. He graduated top of his class, and the only person that was their was his grandmother. Jeremiah did give him an adorable macaroni art piece of the two of them though, which he still has.
He moves to New York for college, business and management classes, anything to get away from a house where he felt like an outsider with everyone but a kid. He learns about himself, and falls in love with a boy he meets in a street. His name is Hugh and he convinces Victor to start writing like he’s always wanted to. Victor is close to confessing his love for him nearing his 20th birthday when he gets a call that changes his life. His short lived freedom is just that, short lived, as he receives news of his parents death. Parents he hasn’t talked to or heard from in almost two years.
He returns home hollow, and sorts out the affairs of his parents estate in a daze. He puts half of it in a trust for Jerimiah. He doesn’t even touch his half for over a decade. He doesn’t return to New York, he’s a different person now and he’s got Jerimiah to take care of. They settle down in Seattle, and develop a new normal. All Victor does is work and raise Jerimiah, dreams of writing gone and repressed along with memories of Hugh. But it’s okay with him because Jerimiah needs to him more than Victor needs a break. He starts to spiral due to stress, and gets meaner due to it. Him and Jerimiah are constantly at each others throats. It takes Jerimiah crying and shoving him into a table, only 17 years old, threatening to leave and never come back for him to get the help he needs, to deal with what happened to their family.
Jerimiah moves to go to medical school, it’s hard for both of them, having relied on each other for so long. Victor is 35 years old and has no friends and no life and hasn’t ever done anything for himself in over 15 years, and he stands at the airport where Jerimiah just left for Massachusetts. He remembers standing at the airport in New York in the middle of the night, and then he remembers Hugh and the two years they spent creating together. He realizes he could write now, if it wasn’t too late then it couldn’t be too late now.
He’s in Shrike Height’s half a year later, an apartment just for himself in a quiet town that can give him solace to write. He still works, wouldn’t be able to function without the ritual of it. At first for a warehouse and distribution center, but he only makes one friend there, who hates it as much as he does. Through them, he learns that Shrike Mall is hiring for their own HR department soon, and decides that a mall would be much more interesting than a paper company. He’s got 13 years of experience, and lands the job easily.
Personality:
Victor is very rigid with most people, though that's really because he’s never taken the time to socialize before. He always took his job in HR so seriously he wouldn’t even mention he had a brother to coworkers in the past. However, he’s since mellowed out and has been attempting to be better about this. He’s a great conversationalist once he becomes comfortable with someone.
Once you get to know him he’s very caring, and his love language is physical touch. He doesn’t care about people he isn’t close to, at all. Though he’s a bit touch starved because the only person he’s been close with recently was his brother, and a few short lived flings back in Seattle. He also has a tendency towards buying things for people he likes, and passing it off as though he just had to get rid of it.
Once he decides something it’s very rare that he changes his mind. He never thought twice about taking in his brother, and he trusts in his own judgement more than he cares to consider anyone else’s opinion on his life, or things he has control over.
Has a well hidden sweet tooth, but would deny it to his grave.
Likes to smoke weed on occasion, especially if he’s having writers block or just wants to relax and wine isn’t cutting it.
Victors all time favorite genre to both read and write is horror, and while he came to Shrike Heights to get inspiration to write his first book, he never expected this. He’s an observer at heart, and is more intrigued by the reason and motive of the killers and why it’s all happening at once at the moment, than he is with the deadly consequences.
Wants to fall in love and is a romantic deep down, but doesn’t know if he should open himself up like that in Shrike Heights because he isn’t sure he’ll remain living here longer than a few years. He is still on the fence, and deciding how much he likes Shrike Heights and its antics.
Is becoming more and more susceptible to peer pressure because he is in fact very lonely
Connections!
Apartment neighbors/floormates
Fwb: Someone he would’ve met before getting the HR job, at a bar within his first few months of coming into town. This is so we could maybe have some drama of the fact that he’s in the HR dept for the mall now and they also work there, which is something he wouldve written someone else up a few years ago
