Closed Starter For Abril, @citrine444

although the night shifts at the hospital are getting easier to manage by now, rachel couldn’t deny that she still loses track of time now and then. having been a morning person for most of her life, she finds it weird to go bed at the time she usually wakes up and start her day when it’s already noon ⸻ it’s a routine that she’s slowly getting used to, and to avoid going out while she’s recovering from a night shift, she would usually opt to cook for lunch. rachel has always been the type to favor homemade food over anything else, but after staring at her almost empty fridge for a hot minute, she realizes that she might have forgotten to do grocery shopping that week. well, it’s not like it never happened before.

after much contemplation she decides to go out, thinks it would be a good idea to have a walk and eat outside for a change. rachel stops by plantas atlas on her way, something that she does out of habit since moving into the area. how could she not? it’s the only place she knows she could find felix, and despite her own stomach growling she couldn’t help but wonder if he has eaten, if he’s doing well at all. rachel doesn’t really expect he would emerge from the back door, just like the other times she’s come here, but there he is. she finally manages to catch felix at the right time and yet she freezes in her spot, unsure what to even say first.

“would you even pick up if i call first?” she asks, although she already knows that he wouldn’t. it’s why she chooses to linger around his plant shop instead; it would be harder to avoid her if they run into each other like this anyways. “i came here to see you,” she admits, tears welling up in her eyes. “i was just on my way to get lunch. have you eaten yet?“ 

( @detruines )

this is quickly becoming a habit; felix falling asleep at plantas atlas, whether it's over inventory or simply a bottle of something a little too strong for even his taste - his clothes rumpled from an unsteady sleep each morning as he tries to leave unnoticed, like some sort of late night call. it's not his fault that on most days - it's already dark by the time he gets out of the shop; it's not his fault that he's scared of - not the dark - but driving in it. it's one of those fears that grip him as hard as he grips the steering wheel, knuckles white with the anxiety. he probably couldn't drive, even if he wanted to; his body reacts too physically to the memories.

so he sleeps there, sometimes - so what? it's never been a problem before; nobody stops him out of concern, nobody checks his whereabouts. nobody disrupts his routine. but it's half - past noon, and he's slept in - and god, there's this crick in his neck that makes him feel like he's one second away from just being stuck at an angle, permanently; and he needs coffee. badly. so he slips out of the backroom, and out of plantas atlas - already open, already in full swing - in his wrinkly, day - before clothes with his head ducked down... and runs into no other than rachel. "oh - christ -" it's too late to turn back around; he's already lingering in the doorway for far too long than he personally likes. he hates people lingering in the doorways - it's either come in, or get out.

"- what are you doing here?" it comes out harsher than he expects it to - a combination of a bad night's sleep, and genuine surprise; caught off guard. "ever thought about fucking... calling first, sometime?"

is that MOON GAYOUNG? oh, no, that’s KANG “RACHEL” DOHEE, a TWENTY-SEVEN year old RESIDENT DOCTOR AT CENTRO MÉDICO who uses SHE/HER pronouns. they currently live in LAS VILLAS DORADAS IN QUILPUÉ, and the character they identify with most is ENID SINCLAIR FROM WEDNESDAY. hopefully they find their own little paradise here in el país de los poetas!

statistics

full name: rachel kang / kang dohee nickname(s): usually just goes by rachel date of birth: june 10th, 1997 age: 27 years old hometown: valparaíso, chile commune: las villas doradas, quilpué sexuality: heterosexual occupation: resident doctor at centro médico

tldr

youngest of three kids so she’s just a Baby fr. grew up with high expectations from her strict parents and the need to keep up with the oldest sibling, which kinda made her a perfectionist that would freak out at any minor inconvenience, but also has the mentality of fake it till you make it so she hides all that emotional instability behind her bubbly personality! the kind that goes “oh no worries this is fine!” with tears in her eyes bc while it is in fact Not Fine she’d hate to be of inconvenience. that being said, she might come off as a little pretentious at times, but she does mean well and is easy to get along with. tends to care about what people think of her, hence the people pleasing tendency. once she gets comfortable around someone she could become a tad bit clingy, which can be both good and bad. the kind to reach out to friends first and check on them. definitely the Mom Friend™. very book smart with good social skills! girlie went to harvard med school and now she's doing her first year residency in valpo bc she wants to be closer to family. aka she's also using it as an excuse to make peace with her brother felix, whom she had a huge fight with 5 years ago. she’s a very emotional person, tends to take things personally sometimes and make everything about her (re: the fight with felix). her love language is words of affirmation and acts of service.

biography

born and raised in valparaíso so she’s a native! as the youngest of three siblings, rachel looked up to the oldest a lot because they were the picture perfect child and well, she wanted to be the same thing. she wanted to be the picture perfect daughter. at first rachel thought it would be easy, and sure, while there was no doubt her parents adored her, she had come to realize that it took more than just being the baby of the family to get their affection ⸻ she would have to live up to their high expectations, first of all.

it wasn’t like she was pit against her siblings growing up. it just sort of happened naturally, especially with the oldest, considering that they seemed to have it the easiest, although rachel wasn't that different. everyone knew she was the top student in her class, that there was nothing she couldn’t do if she put her mind to it, and yet when it came to her oldest sibling, she always felt like she could never measure up to them. this put a strain on their relationship, which made her turn to felix for comfort and reassurance. at least she kenw they were both struggling to keep up with their parents' high expectations, or at least that’s what rachel thought.

that’s why she had become comfortable to whine around felix when things didn’t go her ways, although most often than not they did. sometimes rachel did it out of habit, unaware of the fact that her emotional dumping could come off as inconsiderate. to her, felix had been a safe place for her to be vulnerable. someone that she didn’t have to impress. despite being polar opposites of each other, with rachel being sunshine incarnate and felix the grumpy brother, they got along just fine. of course they did bicker from time to time, just like siblings did, but nothing was ever taken seriously.

rachel was in her final year in college when the fight happened. she was just venting to felix as she usually did ⸻ something about her not getting the honorary student award and how she felt like a failure because of it, and all of a sudden they were at each other’s throats. rachel wasn’t usually prone to lashing out at somebody, much less her brother, but somehow she did. she remembered feeling so upset that she couldn’t even recall what she said to felix, but she knew it was bad enough that he had to leave valpo.

it would be a lie to say she didn’t feel guilty about it, but she had better things to focus on for now. eventually she got accepted into harvard medical school, which felt like a dream came true, and so she too left valpo in the end. things had only gotten harder since then, but rachel wasn’t raised to be a quitter. now that her brother wasn’t around anymore, she often called her aunt to check on her while she was away, counting days until she could return home.

four years went by and rachel finally graduated from med school. she applied to do her residency in valpo, wanted to stay close to her family. after all valpo had always been home, and although felix hadn’t returned yet by the time she did, she knew that he would sooner or later ⸻ how could he not if the news of their dying aunt reach him? until then she could only look forward to the day they would make peace and become close again. hopefully.

#DETRUINES.     dependent mumu blog for valpohq, loathed by mai ( she/her, gmt+8 ). do not interact if not affiliated with the group.

RACHEL KANG ;     intro   -   threads   -   pinterest JACKIE GRIMALDI ;     intro   -   threads   -   pinterest

“so you’re one of those good kids who just eat everything, huh? that’s cute,” she tells adem, head tilting to the side as she muses. “i’m sure your cooking is not bad. if it was she would have told you earlier, right? i know some kids can be brutally honest like that. just give her a little break, babes. it’s okay to not eat your veggies sometimes.” jackie would know because she’s been there, done that too. “do i eat vegetables?” she repeats his question playfully. “well, yeah, i do now! but there was a time i really hated it too, just like emmy. my parents never really cared about it so in the end i just went back into it myself. i could say i’ve grown, ” she laughs. “now that i think about it, maybe it’s some sort of a rebellion after all. have you ever talked this out with emmy though?”

"well, i ate vegetables when i was her age!" not that he had much of a choice, "my sister and i ate whatever. and emmy did eat them, but then she turned eight and suddenly... it's all ewww gross, baba." adem shakes his head, "do you think this is some sort of rebellion? she's growing up on me and suddenly my cooking is bad?" or maybe his cooking isn't that good. he made a note to ask ysla. and also rohan, for a more blunt answer, "well, when did you start eating vegetables? do you eat vegetables?" he hopes so, but he will withhold judgement regardless.

as a morning person, for the first two weeks rachel had a hard time adjusting her sleeping schedule now that she's given night shifts at the hospital. it's nothing she couldn't manage of course ⸻ a short visit to seul con valpo during her midnight break certainly helps make it easier, although it comes with a company that rachel isn't too sure she wants to keep or she's already forced to keep by now. upon hearing the familiar greeting, she could only offer sebastian a smile at the moment, mouth too full with kimbap for her to say something back. "oh yeah, that was indeed scary," is the first thing rachel tells him once she's done eating. "technically, you did scare me because that video won't leave my head for days. it was a nightmare but like, an awake nightmare, which is more terrifying." at least with the usual nightmare it goes away when she wakes up. well, for the most part. "you really traumatized me with that one but it's nice to see you. just an apple this time, hm?"

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closed  starter  for  RACHEL  (  @detruines  ) location  :  outside  seul  con  valpo,  sometime  after  midnight

-ˋˏ ‏‏‎ ‎꒰ ‏‏‎ ‎🎵 ‏‏‎ ‎꒱‏‏‎ ‎ ──‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎although  sebastian  enjoys  working  the  late-afternoon-into-early-morning  shift  at  the  station,  most people he knows are always asleep by the time he finishes work.  mostly, he  looks  forward  to  the  snippets  of  conversation  gets  here  and  there  :  the  security  guard  who  lets  him  out  after  his  show  ends  ;  the  associate  behind  the  counter  at  the  convenience  store  ;  the  woman  he  always  runs  into  on  the  bench  outside  of  it.  the  same  time,  the  same  bench──  fancy  meeting  you  here.  he  thinks  they're  becoming  friends──  whether  that's  true  or  not  has  remained  to  be  seen  (  sebastián  thinks  everybody  wants  to  be  his  friend.  )  "  buenos  noches,  bella  !  "  he  greets  rachel  with  too  much  energy  for  the  time  of  night  it  is,  dropping  down  onto  the  bench  beside  her  and  raising  his  arm  to  rest  against  the  back  of  the  wood.  there's  no  hesitation  in  the  way  he  just  invites  himself  to  join  her,  cleaning  the  apple  he  purchased  inside  off  on  his  shirt.  "  it’s  nice  to  see  you.  i  thought  i  scared  you  away  last  time  when  i  showed  you  that  video  of  belfegor  eating  that  egg.  “ 

i dont want to look “pretty” i want to look otherworldly and vaguely threatening

seeing how excited adem is about the deal, she couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction. “oh babes, i’m afraid you’re asking the wrong person about this.” jackie isn’t much of a cook, that much she could admit. “i don’t even know what to say to all that, but i’m surprised you didn’t know that some kids don’t like their veggies,” she teases. “i feel like that’s a phase every kid goes through at some point. did you not have that ever? have you always liked vegetables even as a kid?” there’s nothing wrong with it, of course, but she absolutely gets it why emine would dislike vegetables at her age. “i’ll say it’s a little tricky. just give it a try!”

for @valpostart where? el mercado

"they are having an incredible deal on garlic scapes." he tells the person closest to him, picking up one of them and inspecting it, "i've had them before, but never cooked with them," adem explains, voice going up an octave in excitement over the prospect of learning how to cook them, "i think you can make pesto out of them? or use them instead of scallions or asparagus? oh, or as a side?" he stops, humming, "emine is being really stubborn about green stuff lately, though. apparently eight-year-olds don't love vegetables. do you think i can stick these in butter or a cheese?"

without a beat, her infamous catchphrase comes out as soon as she hears salem. "why not? i mean if you pay for it, that shouldn't be a problem, no?" jackie has no idea if any of these cats are for purchase, but she believes when there's a will there's a way, and if not, she's pretty sure they could work something out. "i guess you can talk to the owner about it or something," she suggests, a playful smile toying on her lips when an idea suddenly pops into her head. "or don't. it's not like you can get arrested for stealing a cat," then a pause. "can you?" she's unsure. well, now that the realization begins to hit her, maybe they should just abort that mission. "you did say you want to pay for it. i think that works."

status: open @valpostart location: el café de los gatos

“so like….hypothetically speaking if someone wanted one of these cats could they have one?” she asked the person beside her while her gaze was fixed on a larger grey tabby cat. salem being at the cat cafe wouldn’t surprise anyone ( neither would wanting to take in a random stray ) and she knew it would have to be one of the first stops she made as soon as she came back to town. as she crouched down to pet it she wondered how much her own cat would object to a sibling. she seemed to do well with “boat cat” after all. “i mean obviously i would pay for it and ask if i could have it but like can the cats leave with human if they want to?” 

although their words should’ve made her heart flutter, somehow they just leave a bitter taste in her mouth. there’s a sudden urge to bite back at spencer, but she has never been the type to lash out at somebody, even if she’s still upset that they just upped and went on with their life one day. “i know,” jackie responds, grinning cheekily. “you must be going through some crazy shit if you’re out here trying to contact demons. what have you been up to without me, huh?” although it comes out as a silly banter, she truly wants to know all about it. there are so many questions she wants to ask, but for now she decides to bite her tongue ⸻ she doesn’t want to risk scaring spencer off now that they’re here. “oh, i’m just visiting my cousin. he’s a really busy man, so i had to come here and find him myself,” she chuckles. taking a moment to gaze at spencer, she wonders if they would stick around this time, or maybe they would try to run away from her again. either way she thinks it’s worth a try, so she asks, “do you want to check out this bar together? see if we could find any ghost or demon to contact?” it’s her way of saying we should definitely talk. “pretty sure they got some spooky ass drinks we could try too.”

i could never forget you, they should say, but instead settles for, "you're hard to forget." despite going no contact, spencer thinks of jackie often, thinks of reaching out, trying to mend things. but they haven't, clearly, as they're standing shell-shocked in front of her. they know that jackie knows they meant what are you doing in chile, but they only hum in reply, "mm, right. i had the same thought, was hoping to see if could contact any demons. brought my ouija board and everything." they joke, trying to act at all like this is normal, like they haven't been ignoring their connection for so long, "i... well, it's a complicated answer," not really, "just been going through some personal bullshit and my mom used to take me here as a kid. just needed a break." they shrug, "now your turn. what brings you to chile? other than trying to find a ghost at this bar, of course." they resist the urge to move closer. even after all this time, there's a natural draw, there's a palpable connection that's hard to shake.