#∘₊✧────── hen wen szeto ; starter

[urdamage]

✧ open starter ; @shrikestart​​​​ ✧ location ; downtown

               hen wen had been caught red handed . literally . they stood there in the darkness , a drop of red paint falling from their fingertip that still rested firmly on the can of spray paint that they held in their hand , and they faced the other person , the first person who had ever actually caught them leaving their infamous - and previously anonymous - street art around town . fuck . “ what are you doing out so late ? ” they were a hypocrite , but they hadn’t been expecting anyone to be roaming around town at this time , not when there were killers still around , waiting to inflict more pain on the residents of the already pained town . having already been attacked herself , hen wen wasn’t in her right mind ; she was unable to stand the claustrophobic feeling of being confined to her apartment each night , but until she was met with this person , she thought she was alone in feeling that . “ you can’t tell anyone it’s me . ” they added , sounding quieter , more desperate . hen wen had been leaving these pieces around town since she was in high school ; she was a good artist , people loved her work - people who weren’t the town authorities or grouchy business owners , at least - but she wasn’t ready for her identity to be found out . 

[bitcme]

JANE & HEN WEN

Closed starter for @urdamage, located in Shrike County Hospital.​

Shrike Heights isn’t the first town Jane has found herself in that has contained criminals and crime, but this is without a single doubt in her mind the first time she has found herself truly touched by the happenings. Criminals reside everywhere, she’s found. She thought when residents who have been around for longer than she has talked about the crimes they were unfortunate, tragic, scary, but nothing more threatening to her than what she might find elsewhere. Within a single night all of her thoughts and assumptions have been disproven and flipped upside down. More than one person Jane knows fell victim to the attack last night, though it’s taken her at least half of the day to find out the names of the victims through tense, wholly terrifying conversations with those she passes and meets in the mall during the morning shift she’s horrified she’s still required to work no matter what took place there less than twenty-four hours earlier.

Ian Vogt is a name that is difficult to hear amongst the most severely injured, Flora Oliva’s death being shocking and upsetting to Jane as an acquaintance, but hearing Hen Wen Szeto’s name amongst the victim causes a fright inside of Jane that she’s never felt before in her life. Hearing that the one person in Shrike Heights who Jane has known the longest and the best almost lost their life last night scares and upsets her beyond belief. She tries to put trust in the nurses and doctors that are caring for Hen Wen, but she’s home for only five minutes before her emotions take control and send her in the direction of the hospital. Even if her old flame doesn’t wish to see visitors, Jane needs to see Hen Wen and she needs to see that she’s being taken care of before she can rest. She’s only slightly nervous about the other’s reaction, given their last interaction had ended better than Jane thought it would have. 

She walks down the corridor, her heart beating furiously, and she counts each next room until she reaches 203, the room where she was told Hen Wen could be found. Her heart is beating in her throat as she turns to face the open door, swallowing thickly, and now the nerves she feels over being an uninvited visitor grow intensely. She steps into the room. She’s surprised to see that Hen Wen is awake, but it stops her from walking any closer. “I don’t have to stay long, if you… don’t want me to…” Her voice trails off awkwardly. “I heard, and I…” What do you say to someone after they’ve gone through so much? “I’m sorry, Hen Wen.” She doesn’t move closer, instead she hangs by the door, waiting to know whether or not she’s welcomed. Wanted.

[urdamage]

✧ closed starter ; lydia @provocxtions ✧ location ; art murmur

hen wen needed time away from the mall , as she was sure most - if not all - residents needed after monday's attack . it had been brutal , and the added fear that came with the snow still falling wasn't something that hen wen wanted to have to deal with . admitting that , however , or talking about the fact that she was really scared was the last thing hen wen wanted to do with her manager . so instead of calling up and pleading her case , she decided to take herself to the mall shortly after it reopened to ask them face to face for a week off . they were never able to deny any of hen wen's requests when she made them look at her , and the large scar across her face that had been left by the killer who had almost ended her life on her way home from a shift at the very establishment in which she still worked .

catching no one by surprise , hen wen's plan had worked , and now she had an entire week to herself , away from the death trap known as shrike mall . she wasn't eager to stick around for too much longer , but while there , and as she wished to make no unnecessary trips back throughout the week , she decided to quickly head into art murmur to gather supplies . though they'd never admit it , they were glad to find lydia behind the counter , rather than one of the other employees who only bothered hen wen , or tried to make her feel inferior for no good reason other than they were art snobs . " hey , " they waved , not enthusiastic , but not aggressive - which was a good sign for hen wen . with the attack that had happened a couple of days prior , it felt as though there was an enormous elephant in the room , and hen wen had never been very good at ignoring such a thing . " i was meant to be working now , too . " they shook their head , as if to say ' can you believe it ? ' , disgusted that business - as always - resumed like nothing had happened .

[urdamage]

✧ open starter ; @shrikestart​​​​ ✧ location ; an empty store space in the mall

               “ shit - ” upon finding herself in the empty space not yet turned into one of shrike mall’s new stores , hen wen had expected uninterrupted solitude ; she certainly hadn’t been expecting someone else to push their way through the heavy doors to find her sitting inside on her skateboard , a lit cigarette in between her lips . “ i swear i’m not getting up to any trouble , ” they started defending their case , their company being nothing more than a silhouette as the room was dark and the outside’s light shone brightly past them . “ i just … the door was already unlocked , i can leave - if i have to . ” though they wouldn’t usually explain themself to anyone , the last thing they wanted was to get in trouble . they were having a hard enough time already , their mood low , their exhaustion intense , their tolerance for more inconveniences being absolutely non-existent .

[urdamage]

✧ closed starter ; jane @bitcme​​ ✧ location ; stitch by stitch

               perhaps hen wen should have known her plan had been a bad one , but she had been desperate to get back on her skateboard after losing the ability to skate down the streets as usual due to the ice and snow that covered their surroundings . they hadn’t been doing anything too reckless - for someone who was skating inside of the mall - but still , they ended up losing control of their board after her wheels hit a puddle left on the linoleum floor by visitors who were thawing after having been out in the snow . she was fortunate enough to have no eyes on her as she flew off her board , but in the fall her baggy jeans caught the metal frame of a sign that sat outside of a store , and they had been ripped epically , almost completely detaching an entire pant leg .

wincing through the pain of the impact and the shallow cut that the metal had left across her thigh , hen wen knew she couldn’t walk around with an incomplete pair of pants on her - nor could she brave the cold outside with so much skin exposed . they would have bought a whole new pair of pants if they were someone with more money , but as they felt that wasn’t an option they found their way shamefully to stitch by stitch . they held the damaged pant leg in the same hand that had careless pressure applied to their cut , staggering over to the counter and waiting for the employee they could hear out the back . “ excuse me ! ” they called out after a moment , realising the employee mustn’t have heard them come in . “ do you happen to have time for an emergency fix ? i’ve got one pant leg out here ! ” they called desperately , frustration in their voice as they dropped their bag and board down on the ground beside them while talking .

[urdamage]

               “ i won’t tell if you won’t . ” they spoke in a hushed voice , addressing the person that looked suspicious , the person hen wen assumed was sneaking in to the crowded cinema without a ticket . while most were quick to complain about working somewhere as busy as sunrise theatre over the summer , wen honestly didn’t mind it . all the new junior staff they hired to help with the crowds were easy to boss around , giving wen the chance to slack off , even catch some of the movies that were playing - though if anyone asked she undoubtedly claimed to be doing her job as she stood in the back . 

it wasn’t any different today , that was exactly where wen found themself , though this time they believed they weren’t alone in trying to watch predator for free . “ i think there’s some spare seats down the front - but you don’t want interrupt or get in anyone’s way just yet , something real hectic is about to happen . ” the film had been out for a few weeks already , so of course wen had already seen it numerous times .

[urdamage]

✧ closed starter ; jamie @horrorforged​​​​ ✧ location ; the gas station downtown

               needless to say , hen wen was still struggling immensely after what happened to them in late january . their broken bones had now mended , their wounds had now closed , but mentally they were confident that they would never make a full recovery , especially considering how hideously intense their emotional pain still was all these months later . they had gone through a period of time right after it happened when they had completely given up ; they ruined connections , shut people out , hauled themself up in their apartment for days on end until they were in desperate need of the necessities only found outside . it was a messy and somewhat dangerous routine they had gotten themself into , one that they felt they couldn’t break out of even once they realised how terrible it was , but they were extremely fortunate to find that it didn’t have to last forever .

hen wen desperately didn’t want to stay in that routine forever , and so with every ounce of their ability they began trying to pull themself out of it . it was in no way an easy feat , but realistically no option was easy for them right now , and due to how changed they were after the trauma they endured they found themself choosing the option that was best for them , the healthiest option , the one they mightn’t have ever considered before everything happened . part of their attempt at getting better and back into the world as at least half of a functioning person included trying to salvage connections they had almost lost due to their own isolation and disconnection . they weren’t expecting everyone to allow them back into their lives so easily ( even though hen wen could hardly be blamed for the side effects of the attack they hadn’t wished upon themself ) but they were genuinely happy for the first time in a long time to find themself with jamie , sharing an interaction that was shaping up to be pretty okay so far . 

“ i just don’t think apple is appreciated as much as it should be , ” they mused as they dispensed the brand new apple flavoured slushie into the large plastic cup they held . “ first of all , the fruit alone is underappreciated ; everyone thinks it’s the most boring because it’s the most basic , but it’s the staple fruit because it’s one of the best . ” they defended , finding themself talking about anything they could - so long as it was far away from any of the harder topics that could send them spiralling right now . “ then apple flavour is totally different , totally fake , if someone told me it was made out of only sugar and pure fuel i’d believe them , but it’s really fucking good . ” with their cup finally filled to the brim with the frozen treat they stepped back from the machine . “ and that’s my pro apple argument , thank you for listening . ” they laughed ; it was still a dull laugh coming from the person with vacant eyes , but it was more than what had left their mouth in a very long time . hen wen couldn’t escape the crushing sadness that overwhelmed them , it was still tangled up inside of them amongst all of their organs and the rest of their emotional baggage , but for once it wasn’t being manifested so outwardly . perhaps they should have seen jamie again sooner . 

[urdamage]

✧ closed starter ; @hallowghoul​​​ ✧ location ; the paint your own bauble station at the lodge

               “ for the last time - ” hen wen started , having felt the other’s presence but not yet looking up to face them , not even as she spoke . “ i’m not going to paint anything on a bauble for your kid . it’s not my responsibility to make up for skills they lack . if you want them to make something like what i’m doing tell them they need to practice for twenty years first . ” she was stern in speaking , even while focusing so closely on the intricate painting she did on her own bauble . “ s - ” they had intended on continuing to speak , though as they did so they finally looked up to their company and they realised they weren’t one of the parents that had been bothering them moments earlier . “ oh , my bad . ” 

[urdamage]

p r u e .

➵ closed @hollowghcsts​

               gliding through the large doors on her skateboard , a sour look on her face , hen wen was relieved to spot someone she knew and trusted . she stopped the board next to her friend , making her anger apparent as she kicked it up into her hands with a little extra force . “ you know when you’re having a bad day , when you think your mood can’t get any worse , and then the one person capable of changing that comes along ? ” she wasn’t going to properly dump all of her troubles onto prue , though she did feel the need to explain her bad mood . “ it’s that chai from tracks . acts like she owns the rights to music in there . ” they huffed . 

[urdamage]

✧ closed starter ; lark @cherrybitcs​ ✧ location ; ( just outside of the ) fall fest

               perhaps hen wen could have been doing more to hide her bad mood , though anyone who knew her in recent times should never have expected her to be anything other than hostile with everything happening around her and to her . they were angry , and they were making that as clear as day as they sat on the grass away from the fall fest , stabbing at the large pumpkin in between their legs in a haphazard manner , making something that only slightly resembled a face . “ if you’re here to tell me it looks shit save your breath . ” she spoke upon seeing feet in her peripheral vision ; it was only when she looked away from the pumpkin finally that she got to see it was lark who had approached . “ oh . ” they stabbed the pumpkin with their pocket knife again , though this time they left it in there . “ hey . ”

[urdamage]

g r i f f .

➵ closed @cherrybitcs​

               this wasn’t the first time hen wen had fallen off of her skateboard and landed harshly , but it was the first time in a while that she had done so in front of a crowd . she was mortified , to say the very least , embarrassment washing over her like a liquid leaving her drenched . red faced and out of breath , she rolled over into a seated position , trying desperately to ignore the feeling of the stares she received as she assessed the damage - the worst being a bleeding , grazed knee . it was in no way a big deal , but still , they looked up , searching for a friendly face who might be able to offer help . “ griff ! ” they called out , seeing the other walking closer to them as they sat at the bottom of the ramps in the park . “ you got a band-aid ? ” usually they would deal with any sort of injury on their own , but in the discomfort that came with the embarrassment over the fall and the stares , they were eagerly searching for something else to preoccupy their mind .

[urdamage]

✧ closed starter ; aria @offaria​ ✧ location ; hen wen and aria’s apartment

               excluding her parents - which she always did - hen wen had only ever lived with one other person before . for most of her life she had had a roommate in the form of her brother ; she hadn’t needed to search for someone else to occupy the space in her apartment and help pay the rent because he was by her side whether she liked it or not ( and for the record , she had always liked it ) . hen wen had grown to not like other people’s company , not when it was often or constant or in a space where wen couldn’t escape ; the idea of having to search for another roommate had been hellish , but necessary . her brother was no longer here to occupy the second room in her apartment , and with the gentrification of shrike heights hen wen could no longer afford to live on her own . it wasn’t what hen wen wanted , but before she knew it she had met with multiple people looking for a place and she had settled on aria . 

not only had hen wen grown to not like other people’s company , she had also grown used to the absence of others . some mornings she woke up and she had completely forgotten about aria , only remembering when she was so abruptly met with the other person in one of the shared areas of the apartment . this morning happened to be one of those mornings . “ jesus ! ” she jumped , almost spilling the coffee she had been pouring . “ you snuck up on me , you scared the shit out of me . ” she deflected the blame onto her roommate , when really she could have been more mindful and alert herself . at least when she spoke her tone hadn’t been as hostile or as nasty as it so often was . “ i’m never gonna get used to that . ” she spoke more to herself as she said this rather than directing her speech to her roommate .