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efficiiency · 6 hours ago

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Recently, Bernie bought herself some headphones. Big, gaudy, bright pink headphones that slid over her ears and pinned her black hair to her skull unattractively. They're perfect; just obnoxious enough to make Bernie feel like she's making some sort of statement without having to actually say anything. She likes wearing them on her walks around town, groceries stretching out the fabric of her Baggu reusable bag while Spotify slowly kills her phone battery.

There's only one stop left on her trip: Serenity. To her surprise, Lavi's standing outside, an enticing tray balanced in her hands. Bernie pushes her headphones with just enough force to knock them around her neck and she does a little skip to propel her closer faster.

" Please tell me these are free, " she says, excitable tone lifting her words. " I've been desperate to break out of my norms but I hate the idea of buying something and finding it gross. "

Bernie takes a cup with little care for what flavor it might be, pausing to smile warmly at Lavinia and her joke. They're not friends, but they could be; Bernie's in here often enough, gabbing her ears off. " It's so nice to see you! How have you been? "

for: @aurorabaystarter (0/5)

It was shaping up to be one of the slower days at Serenity Tea Room. Days like today were typically early days for most employees, if they felt like leaving early. Today was one of the days in which a majority of them had taken the offer, so it was just her and a skeleton crew by three pm. In order to keep herself preoccupied Lav brews up six different types of tea and separates them into little sample cups. She places the cups neatly on a tray, then creating labels for each little section to help identify which tea was what.

With a light, but cozy, winter jacket on Lavinia makes her way outside. This was her way to both promoting the tea shop but also to help keep the citizens of Aurora Bay warm while they were out and about. “Hello! Would you like to try one our teas today? Great way to keep yourself warm, and energized. Except Lavender, that one might make you a tad too relaxed.��

#int. all #int. levinia #all. levinia #levinia 001

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efficiiency · 3 days ago

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𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 "𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐞" 𝐜𝐡𝐨

❝ Once, I ran, face first, into a mirror because I didn’t recognize my reflection, because I didn’t see a reflection at all. ❞

B A S I C S –

Name: Bernadette Cho, FKA Bernadette Senanayake. Nicknames: Bernie. Birthday: December 9, 1984. Pronouns: She/her. Gender/Sex: Cisgender/female. Sexuality: Bisexual(?). Occupation: Seafoam owner.

P E R S O N A L I T Y —

+ Articulate, reflective, approachable. - Anxious, embarrassing, short-tempered. Has cool aunt energy despite being a regular mom. She's finally in the stage of life where she knows (mostly) what she wants so she's coming out of her shell in big ways - involving herself in the community, adding color to her new (solo-owned!) apartment, and throwing her entire wardrobe out in order to start fresh. She loves to laugh though she's not very funny, and she's always down for a glass of lemonade and a few cigarettes on the balcony.

A R R I V A L — ( 2005 )

The moment that Bernie and Kilroy graduated, they headed to Aurora Bay to be closer to Kilroy's family. Bernie loves California so it wasn't a huge change, but she never quite felt like she fit in. Almost twenty years later she's finally made some steps toward making Aurora Bay her home.

C O N N E C T I O N S —

TBA.

E X T R A B I T S —

– Never used to care about her nails, but after her divorce/coming out (and after fixing her relationship with her sister), she started going bi-weekly to get a full mani/pedi with her sister. It's a great way to bond and also to check in with herself/show some self care. – Disaster in the kitchen. DO NOT LET THIS WOMAN COOK! Has set multiple kitchen fires. Her biggest expense outside of the club is all of the delivered food she gets. – (Mostly) sober because she gets too wild when she drinks. If there's an event at the club she's particularly excited about she'll have a few drinks, but she always employs one of her friends to keep her safe. – Has the loudest, most annoying laugh in the world. It sounds fake but it's all naturale, baby. If you really get her going, she'll start wheezing.

B A C K G R O U N D —

tw: cheating

- Bernie grew up the daughter of two first-generation Korean immigrants. Her and her younger sister were treated under the harsh boots of two loving parents who both feared and adored America, so curfews were strict and screen time was non-existent. Bernie was always good with the rules imposed in her household, but her sister, Carol, was not. - Carol and Bernie's relationship seesawed back and forth depending on how harsh their parents were being. Most of the time, they weren't on good terms. The four year gap between them kept them at odds, and even after Bernie left for college, the divide between the sisters stayed. - The only escape Bernie ever had from her home - the only place she could be completely alone - was in her writing. Poetry mostly, though also short stories and, though they made her blush to handwrite, romances. Her passion (and talent) for her craft was clear from a young age; her teachers encouraged her, even if her parents didn't, and preferred she follow a more lucrative career path like being a doctor, or... being a doctor. - Bernie applied to as many colleges as she could, as far away as she found, with as little contact with her family as possible. While she promised she'd pursue a degree her parents would be proud of her for, the first thing Bernie did was declare herself undeclared and the second thing she did was fill her schedule with classes she thought were more interesting than biology or anatomy. - The third thing she did was fall in love.

- Kilroy Senanayake was charm with legs. He captured Bernie's heart immediately with feats of romance like flowers delivered to her dorm room and improv'd songs in the cafeteria. He was like a character from a rom-com come to life and wouldn't you know it, he loved her, of all people. Plain Bernadette Cho was the apple of a man's eye. That's what she always wanted, right? What she always should have wanted? - Three years of school flew by, and the summer before their senior year, Kilroy pitched marriage. It felt like a simple choice: her parents would hate it, so of course Bernie should do it. This was also, unfortunately, around when Bernie's horrible bout of writer's block took hold; she struggled academically through much of her English degree requirements, and many professors spoke of their concern. She waved off their worries, graduated, and then Kilroy whisked her off to Aurora Bay to start their family. - For a long time, Bernie took birth control pills religiously. While she knew that, eventually, her husband expected children, her own strained relationship with her parents always turned her off to the idea. She just wasn't ready, and, truthfully, she wasn't certain she ever would be. Instead of a baby, Kilroy decided they should invest in a business. Without a real plan for her life anymore, Bernie agreed, and together they opened Hot Spot: a night club that, though insistent upon it's unique qualities, turned out to be just like any other night club. - And so that was life for nearly a decade. Years passed by like water through her fingers; never once did she turn back to her writing that had at one point been her only solace. Her distance led to some drinking and partying that she isn't proud of, and her drinking and partying led her to a string of bad decisions (and lack of care) that resulted in a baby. When Bernie was a ripe 30 years old (truly in her prime!) she gave birth to a daughter: Penelope. - Though she's loathe to admit it, Bernie felt burdened by the child. While she'd been pretty sure before, now she was certain: motherhood wasn't for her. She didn't even know if she loved Kilroy anymore. She didn't even know if she really loved men at all.

- In a terrible turn of events (and decidedly not the fault of drinking), Bernie began sleeping with Kilroy's sister when Penelope was 2. It just happened. The stress of being a new mother paired with the stress of being in a relationship she wasn't even sure she was still happy in drove her to terrible places - mostly between Kadie Senanayake's legs. - Three years of on-and-off sleeping around finally led to Kilroy discovering the affair (2019). Crushed and murderous, he threatened Bernie's parental rights. She didn't want them anyway. While she did want to be there for her daughter, she knew she couldn't be the parent that Penelope deserved, so she took partial custody of Penny and full custody of Hot Spot. - With a failing business on her hands and a new life in front of her, Bernie decided to embrace the newer clientele she had been serving. Most of the Hot Spot's patrons were fruity as it is, due to their high security measures making drag queens and their crews feel safe enough to dance without watching over their shoulders. In January of 2020, Bernie closed the Hot Spot for "renovations", and in April, she re-opened it under the name Seafoam. Since it's rebranding and reopening as an LGBTQ+ bar, its impact on the community (and Bernie's sense of self) has only grown. - After Kilroy and Bernie's divorce, Bernie called off the affair with Kadie. They're civil - more civil than with Kilroy - but it's not exactly hugs and kisses. Now, Bernie's throwing everything she has into making Seafoam as lively as possible, as well as being the best every-other-weekend-mother she can be. - When the whole ordeal with Bernie and Kilroy went down, Carol reappeared in her sister's life, this time with the intention of staying there for good. They've been repairing their relationship ever since, and are now best friends in the way they could never be while growing up. Carol has also been her biggest fan, hyping her up to get her back into writing (because the minute she left her ex-husband, her muse came back. How funny!)

PENNED BY MIGZ. ( @aurorabayaesthetic )

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