renegades;

Vivian (Ian) McCoy 26. EMT. LaSalle. Doctors Without Boarders Johns Hopkins Grad. ________________________________ COURAGE doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you DON’T let the fear stop you.

[captainheroism]

pretty hairstyles (9-17/∞)

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Sophia Milestone. — new years

All Sophia could hear were worried people moving about besides her. Their confusion was taking control, and a lot of them were too drunk to not be paranoid and get scared. Sophia, however, wasn’t all that worried. Sure she had no idea what was going on, and it was a bit concerning. But she wasn’t as crazed about it like a few others were. “I guess I just never really pay attention to that sort of thing. I mean, I know what you’re talking about and everything.. but uh, I guess, yeah..” Sophia then paused, crossing her arms as she rubbing the sides of them. “Maybe you’re right then. Maybe the power is out. I wonder what happened… How does a hotel just lose power? This place is huge… and shouldn’t just poof, lose it all.” 

“When I was in Nigeria,” Ian started, trying to divert attention to something else, “I stayed in a small village in the Northeast of Borno and at night if you really listened you could hear the lions in the Sambisa Forest cry.” The chirp of the crickets had seemed so loud her first couple of nights that she’d barely been able to sleep. She shrugged next, eyes still focused on watching but posture relaxed. “I’ve got no idea, to be honest. Maybe someone flips the wrong switch. Plugged too many things into an outlet and jumped the breaker. It could be the weather. I just... have no idea.”

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Micah LaCroix. — new years

Micah glanced around at the staff, who did indeed all look confused. This was most definitely not supposed to happen. He put the glass down and took a step towards the table again, not wanting to be in anyone’s way. “No, it’s definitely not something that was planned.” He let out a breath and nodded as she spoke. He was just wondering how fast he could get out of here, none of this looked good. 

"Unless they didn’t even tell the staff that they were going to turn off the lights as a part of the celebration.” Though even as the words left her lips she knew that couldn’t have been the case -- it wasn’t logically safe to keep your staff in the dark.  And even after questioning a few of the staff Ian came up empty. Either they’d been told not to say anything or they were just as clueless as the guests. “No one knows anything,” she announced with a huff, collapsing into one of the chairs set at the table. “And even if someone wanted to leave it’s like...” Ian withdrew her phone from her clutch and frowned, “Negative whatever outside.”

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Sophia Milestone. — new years

“I mean unless they were trying to pull the whole surprise thing.” She commented, still looking around as her eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. She wasn’t all that worried or scared, but it certainly had her questioning what was going on. “Hear what?” Sophia then questioned, furrowing her brow as she glanced at the woman in confusion. The power was out, she got that, or it was shut off, she didn’t know. But she didn’t hear anything. “What am I trying to hear? All I hear is people talking and gasping. Kind of like we were just doing.” 

“I guess that could be it,” Ian supplied absently, though it was rather dramatic. “But wouldn’t the lights have come back on by now?” Still. She couldn’t help the itch making its way up her back. “Nothing. I don’t hear anything. Like. Anything.” She turned back to the redhead. “I mean besides the talking and whatnot. When the power goes out, especially in places as large as this one that’s meant to house a large amount of people they usually have generators. Pretty big ones. So it’s like. When someone turns on a TV in another room but you can still hear that static?” She was rambling but her brain was trying to calm itself. Talk itself through her reasoning. “You can usually feel that there’s power somewhere. Either the small vibrations through the floor or the air through the ducts. But I don’t hear any of that.” A pause as she realized what exactly she sounded like -- someone crazy. “But I could just be paranoid,” she flashed a smile. “It’s probably nothing.”

[melissabenoistdaily]

Melissa Benoist speaks onstage at the 1st Annual Marie Claire Young Women’s Honors, November 19th, 2016.

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Sophia Milestone. — new years

“Is that so?” Sophia’s brows then rose in response to the woman. “With that attitude, I’m sure that’s the case. Come on, don’t think like that. Everyone has their cases of serious bad luck, but if you think something bad is going to happen then more than likely something bad will happen.” Not always, of course, but a lot of the time if people weren’t positive about the outcome of things, it would change how things occurred. From her experience, at least. “Oh, I’ll totally take them with you! Hell, bring on the shots. Just not tequila. Unless you do want to get shit faced now, then by all means, let’s down them.” She laughed, smiling widely up at the other. “I guess I used to be. Or can be… I don’t know. Honestly, what they wanted for me was what I wanted. Still is, even. Just… Things happen and we don’t always get what we want, you know? But it’s okay. I don’t mind. Especially since this is supposedly the time to start over. Despite not agreeing with it, new year, new me, right? Can begin somewhere else.” Even though she had no idea where. Before she could say anything else, however, the lights had shut off suddenly, leaving Sophia in a state of complete confusion. “Uh.. what the… I wonder… this can’t be a part of something, huh? Like a surprise.. no, what kind of surprise would this be? What’s going on?”

“No,” Ian said, voice far more serious then she had intended. “No I don’t think this is part of it. They’d tell us, you know? At least I hope they would have.” Her eyes wandered then, shift past surprised face after surprised face. Even the staff seemed to be startled -- they they tried to hide it under smooth smiles. “I have no idea,” her head moved from side to side, eyes still scanning. “The powers out. Like... all of it. You hear that?” she turned back to the red head, ears straining, hoping the other would get her drift. Ian didn’t hear anything. No static from the speakers or hum from underlying electricity shifting through the still open circuits. The entire building had gone dark.

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

supply run | vivian & danielle.

@d-milestone

It was a curse that whenever something even mildly unexpected happened in her life, Ian almost always assumed the worst. Without sounding too much like a broken record, the blonde knew that her time spent in Nigeria had shaped the way she assets situations — even if they weren’t serious. This was Montreal, after all, not some small town on the outskirts of a war torn country. She saw the worst the city had to offer on a regular basis and it still wasn’t as bad as her lingering nightmares. So there was no need for her palms to sweat or her heart rate to accelerate. She’d seen worse. Survived worse.

Still. The darkness that engulfed the crowded hall was unsettling all the same. She hadn’t been afraid of the dark before, she still wasn’t, but with the growing sense of unrest Ian realized she feared the unknown more than the darkness. More importantly, she feared not being prepared. Unplanned and tense situation were dangerous, sure, but a group of panicked, slightly drunk, people on top of that? It just meant that the lot of them were in for a long night.

“This whole thing might take a while,” she said to the woman next to her, pulling her hair up into a loose ponytail. “And there’re a lot of people here. I might need some help carrying a few things up from the basement. You up for taking a trip with me?”

In a surprise to literally no one the off-duty EMT had offered her help immediately once she’d surmised that the situation hadn’t been a planned one. And it had been happenstance that she’d run into the other blonde — they’d met briefly in Nigeria and at the expense of making a small world comment, Ian had enlisted the woman’s help immediately.

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Micah LaCroix. — new years

He wanted to protest that his father had been right, not for the exact reasons he’d thought, but in the end it didn’t matter. Maybe he could go back and finish law school, put his degree to good use. How, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t know if he was exactly cut out to be a lawyer either. Micah watched as they clinked glasses and almost on cue the lights went out. He looked around in confusion, wondering how this could’ve happened. “I’m not sure. What’s everyone doing? Are we supposed to leave?”

Ian’s head shifted around the hall, eyes wandering. Everything had happened so quickly and unexpectedly it seemed no knew what to think. “I... don’t know. The servers even look confused.” Her gaze settled on a group at the back of the hall behind one of the serving tables -- body language aside there was a growing sense that something had gone wrong. If only a small something. “I don’t think this is planned,” she said finally, turning back to him. “I mean I don’t see why it would be. Why turn off all the lights? I...” she trailed off, itching to find out what was going on. “I’m going to see if I can find anything out, okay?”

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Roisin DuBois. — new years

“Well I’m just glad to see that I’m not the only lazy one. When it’s nice out I walk to and from work but that’s only when it’s nice out. Right now it’s freezing so I’m driving. I think they probably have cheesecake somewhere around here. Have you tried the food they have here? It’s amazing!” Roisin laughed, “You’re not the first person to tell me that nor do I think you’ll be the last.” Her smile quickly turned into a frown, “Speaking of horror movies I think this party just became one.”

"I used to walk everywhere back in college but D.C. wasn’t nearly as bad with snow as it is here. And I haven’t! Though I’m always impressed with the food at events like this.” Eyebrows furrowed, Ian continued to glance around. “Let’s hope that’s not the case,” she replied with a light laugh, though it was short. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Though... I’m not particularly fond of not knowing what’s going on.”

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Micah LaCroix. — new years

“It’s alright. It’s just something to come to grips with. I hate that my Dad was right, though.” Micah let out a sad laugh and shook his head. His head lifted and he looked over at her. “Thanks, I do appreciate it.” He grabbed a glass of champagne for the two of them from a traveling waiter. “Okay here’s to something better.” He held up his glass with a half smile, waiting for her cheers.

“He wasn’t right,” Ian replied, shaking her head. She flashed a smile all the same and took the slender champagne flute. “But yeah,” a nod shifted her head as she raised her glass to clink against his own, “To something be         ”

Darkness engulfed the entirety of the hall, a few gasps breaking the sudden silence. Ian stood as her eye adjusted, scanning the darkness, mind trying to process. “What’s going on?” she turned briefly to Micah but knew the odds of him having an answer were slim to none. She answered her own question a half a beat later. “Powers out,” the simple answer and then, “Shouldn’t this place have generators?”

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Sophia Milestone. — new years

“No no no,” Sophia began to protest, shaking her head at the other. “You can’t just live a little. Like okay, I totally understand I’m being such a kid right now and a bad influence, but it’s the last night of 2016 and you’re totally into that whole new years stuff like you just said. So come on, drink and live a lot. What’s the worst that can happen? You’re safe and in a hotel so you don’t even need to drive home or call a cab while drunk.. you can just get a room. Do it, you won’t regret it!” Or maybe she would, as most people did when they got outrageously drunk. But Sophia had to make it sound somewhat appealing. “Don’t worry, I didn’t think you liked the spike in accidents. But yeah, there’s really no surprise, honestly. As sad as that is.” Sophia then laughed at the woman’s statement next. If only she knew what the red head was up to. “Oh please.. don’t flatter me. I’m not that driven anymore. Not to sound cynical again. I swear I’m not as cynical as I’ve sounded through this conversation! I’m just not as motivated now that I’m on my own. My parents pushed me a lot so I had them growing up. But now I’m probably going to fail is changing anything I really want to change… and I’m pretty much unemployed so that’s proof right there how unmotivated I can be.”

Ian could do nothing but laugh. “My problem is the worst that can happen usually does in my case,” it was said with a smile but distantly there was truth to the words. She had learned a long time ago to not tempt fate. It had a way of biting her in the ass. “How about this. I’ll take a couple shots so long as you do them with me, yeah?” The other woman’s energy was infectious and she had no doubt that she could down a shot or two. “Not that driven anymore?” Ian lifted an eyebrow, “You sounded pretty go getter like. Two seconds ago. And I dunno. I get the parents thing but sometimes you just...” she trailed off and shrugged, “Gotta forget about them and do your own thing. What makes you happy doesn’t necessarily make them happy and they won’t understand. And... I’m not making any sense but the gist? Do what you wanna do and forget all the negative stuff everyone else says -- half the city is unemployed. And you’re good at something,” Ian stressed, “You just gotta-----” the sudden darkness killed the words in her throat and her gaze shifted around, eyes adjusting to the sudden blackness. “I don’t think this is part of the party...”

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Roisin DuBois. — new years

“If I told you that then I would be a hypocrite. I spend a lot of my time watching Netflix and eating cheesecake. I can’t tell you to not do the same but if you want to go out and explore the city then be my guest. Just wait at least until it’s warm outside again,” She teased. “This is why I asked you to do it with me. You’re more prepared than I am. I wouldn’t have even thought about something like that. Oh good. Then we won’t have to worry about getting killed by crazy exes.”

“I mean I don’t want to do that,” Ian said, making a face. “Walking requires effort and when I have days off all I want to do is sleep and eat. Cheesecake, though. That sounds awesome right now.” Shaking her head, Ian let out a groan and fought the urge to playfully roll her eyes. “Clearly you need to watch more movies. That’s the only reason why I thought about it. And I mean, hey, at least--” the sudden darkness was alarming, so much so that Ian’s entire body tensed. “... what the hell?”

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Erin Thomas. — new years

“What I don’t understand is why people are so keen to start a new year when we all know it’s going to be a lot worse than last. I mean, granted, we’re not in the states but that shit will affect us. I just vote to get wasted in order not to think of it.”

“I don’t know, I hope to God this year isn’t as bad as last -- I don’t know if I’ll be able to survive. But there is a certain appeal to getting smashed and not having to think about either outcomes.”

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Micah LaCroix. — new years

“I do, but it’s just exhausting. The constant rejection, the need for validation. I’m tired.” Micah shook his head as he fiddled with the napkin on the table. “I don’t think I’m cut out for that kind of life.”

“Oh,” Ian finally replied, face falling. “I’m sorry to hear that.” It wasn’t an easy thing to see and a small burst of sadness shot through her gut. “You want something to drink?” she asked suddenly, flashing a small smile. “Maybe we can... I dunno. Toast to something better.” A beat passed where she tried to find something to say, mind scrambling over itself to offer some form of comfort and encouragement. “For what it’s worth,” she says after a moment, “I think you’re very good. I always did.”

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Micah LaCroix. — new years

Micah pulled out the chair at the closest table, giving his feet a rest. There wasn’t a lot he had going on that looked to change in the coming year, but how did you say that without sounding negative? He wasn’t upset about it. “I’d have to be able to book any gig to start with, and I should probably start focusing on other things.”

Ian followed, collapsing into the chair next to him and unlatching her heels, pulling her feet out of the black six inches. “Wait, what?” she asked after a quick comprehension, eyebrows furrowing at him. “Why? I thought... well. Isn’t it like... don’t you want to be a musician?”

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Sophia Milestone. — new years

“Wow, that’s about four years without poppin’ champagne at midnight. You officially need to go much harder than the rest of us.” Sophia said, though it was more of subtle demand. “That’s definitely an excuse to not take off. But still, you have three other years without this sort of thing, so I’m still holding you to the going hard thing.” She laughed. “Ah.. so then you get a lot of drunk people make stupid decisions, huh? Seems like an interesting night for sure. On both ends, really.” Sophia knew what it was like being the drunk person making a dumb drunk mistake… But she could only imagine what it was like to be the one taking care of people like that. “Yeah, it is. A bit cynical too, I guess. And I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am out here too. I’m guilty of wanting to celebrate and all. But if my 2017 is going to be good, which I really hope it is, only I can really control that. Which means no more being lazy and watching Netflix every day.”

“Go hard?” Ian echoed with a laugh and a shake of her head. “Well, I don’t know how hard I can physically go but I’ll try and at least live a little tonight, how about that? I’m not really the type to let loose completely, but it has been a bit since I’ve had some fun.” She nodded next, mind flashing briefly to the numerous New Years she’d spent in the back of an ambulance. “Typically there’s a jump in that sort of thing, yeah,” she shrugged, “Which is unfortunate but it happens. Not much you can do about it besides help. And I do enjoy it. Helping people, I mean. Not the spike in accidents.” Ian nearly spat out her champagne, trying to hold back her laugh. “Oh, man. You’re so much more driven than I am. I spent most of my days off on the couch watching Netflix so I am totally a guilty party there. What do you do? Because whatever it is they’re lucky to have you.”

[vivian-mccoy-blog]

Sophia Milestone. — new years

“Damn. How long is awhile? You need to start taking it off more often. I’m totally against that whole superstition thing that comes with New Years, but honestly, it’s a usually a good night no matter what.” She laughed softly. “Oh yeah? Where do you work?” Sophia questioned. “I am optimistic, I promise. It’s not like that. It’s just the whole concept of thinking the new year changes things. It’s just a day and a year. It’s not like the world suddenly becomes a better place. I get the hopeful thing don’t get me wrong. I totally get why people do it. But personally, if I want to change how the world is or how I am, I won’t need to wait for midnight to do that. I’ll just do it now. If that makes sense.” 

“Like... three years, give or take one,” Ian admitted, eyes lifting briefly to the ceiling in thought. “But in my defense I was in Nigeria for this past year for work so I couldn’t really... take off.” She nodded then, taking a sip of her drink and noticing that it tasted far better than what she usually had. “I’m an EMT so it’s... one of the more busier nights of the year. It is a fun one, though.” As the girl explained Ian couldn’t help the smile that grew wider and wider across her lips. “That’s a very practical way to look at it, actually. I respect that. I think I do all this just because it’s tradition -- but you’re right. The year is what you make it.”