#dbif: maria

[daisychainfiction]

Can we facts about MCs family and their dynamic (that isn’t spoilery) ?

Of course, I’d love to! :)

Maria is also called Mama Ria by everyone - except, ironically, her children. She is well-liked by most of the people who meet her – this is one of the only childhood ambitions she succeeded at.

Maria failed at her law aspirations. She failed at a happy marriage. And, most hauntingly of all, she failed at loving her second-born child, Kimberly.

*

She wonders if it’s because she was forced back to work two weeks after giving birth. Perhaps it was untreated post-partum depression. Maybe it was because her marriage fell apart the moment her husband discovered there was another child on the way.

Whatever the reason, your mother could never relate to Kimberly. Kimberly was always too quiet, too moody, too selfish.

But was she? Or was it Maria who pushed her to melancholy?

When Kimberly disappeared, Maria was terrified. She harassed the police, she hung posters, she begged for her return on television.

It lasted for a year before Maria silently, secretly, accepted that Kimberly was gone for good.

*

Maria adored -and still adores- you. You were everything to her when she was pregnant with you; the bond only deepened once you were in the world.

After Maria’s near-death experience -and subsequent injury- she began to dote on you even more.

*

When Bug arrives, Maria feels the love she never had for Kimberly.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Kimberly. What can be said about Kimberly? She was a quiet child. She kept to herself when Maria was home. She usually spent her time in your shared bedroom with her MP3 player blaring over cheap headphones.

*

When your mother wasn’t around, Kimberly was your shadow. You didn’t mind – you liked your little sister well enough. She never got underfoot, she was always willing to do what you wanted, and she had a penchant for ‘finding’ things. You’d come home to discover new magazines on your pillow, shiny baubles on the windowsill, and color-rich nail polishes on her bedside table.

You’re not sure if she came about these items legally, but you never asked.

You never asked her a lot of things, did you?

*

Kimberly feared Bug -her own child!- and you might never know why.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Bug (or Lily if you want to be a spoilsport) is two-and-a-half years old. She doesn’t remember Kimberly, but she sometimes smells the geranium shampoo her mother used. It comes to her when she’s in that place between dreams and wakefulness.

*

Bug loves her grandma Maria. Her favourite times are when they are snuggled up in the old brown recliner, listening to music.

She likes the voices her grandma makes when she reads stories. Grandma also has the best cookies! She lets Bug help even though the kitchen is small, which makes Bug feel special. Grandma never lets you in the kitchen!

Sometimes Grandma tries to get Bug to speak, and that makes her sad. Not talking feels better.

Not talking means the words don’t slice through her with their sharp edges.

Not talking is safer.

*

Bug likes you a lot. When you go to Deerbourne, she misses you fiercely. Seeing you on the weekends isn’t enough, but she has to make do.

She doesn’t like your cabin at Deerbourne. It feels like she’s being pressed from all sides, squishing into nothing. But you’re there, and you make everything better.

One good thing about Deerbourne is the butterflies! There are always so many around the cabin when she visits.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

[daisychainfiction]

Ir Kim was still alive the mc still will be bug legal parent?

that's an interesting question...

Kimberly would remain her legal guardian, but Maria would take over the majority of care. It'd be under the guise of "Kimberly, go to school, find a job, go backpack through Europe, focus on yourself. I'll watch over Bug so you can have a life."

You can headcanon whatever role your MC would have in that situation.

[daisychainfiction]

oougghhhh the parallels in kim being obsessed with xavier and mc (can be/) being obsessed with nadia like wow it runs in the blood huh 🤭💕

exactly.

Add in that Maria was obsessed to the point of blindness with her ex-husband... 🤭 This could be a bloodline of lovesick fools depending on MC's choices.

[daisychainfiction]

Kimberly lore snippet

writing a short little Kimberly story and thought I'd share a snippet!

[daisychainfiction]

Characters Halloween costumes?

Yay, Halloween question! 🎃

Annika – Poison Ivy. She’d find it a hilarious juxtaposition to herself (even though she’d probably agree with Ivy’s pov if she were in the “real world” and not sheltered by Deerbourne’s communal society). She’s spending the evening handing out candy and handmade trinkets to the children and hanging out with Hunter or Deerly.

Silas – Silas used to plan ornate group outfits with Xavier, Annika, and Linea when they were younger... Before things got messy. Since then, he’s defaulted to adding a cowboy hat to some jeans and a button up. Low effort, but at least he’s participating, right? He’ll spend the night in the cafeteria handing out treats and spending time with Hunter and whoever else is around (and avoiding Deerly if possible).

Vardah – She’d love to dress up like an Ent (LotR) just to piss off Deerly. But not really, because sometimes being a thorn in someone’s side isn’t worth the aftermath. (Plus, she wouldn’t want to scare the kids.) She’d probably end up doing something typical… A sexy nurse, probably. She’d love the little hat.

Jordan – they would go all out on some typical costume. For example, if it’s a pirate costume, they’re decked out in authentic fabrics, leather, and jewels. They do up their long hair with authentic styles… the whole thing. They’d probably hand out little cheap baubles to everyone and put on a show for the children.

Nadia – She’s the one who won’t dress up, but that’s common for the older Initiates. She’ll spend the night telling the kids ghost stories and refereeing Ghost in the Graveyard and Flashlight Tag games.

Hunter – he dresses up as a different famous baker each year. He firmly believes in being properly dressed at work, and since he spends the whole night baking and decorating treats for the community, this is the way to do that! Not outfit related, but he also holds one cookie decorating contest for the children and a second one for the adults later in the night.

Bug – this year, she wants to be an astronaut! However, she’s a little unclear on the concept because she also wants to wear a star halo and a mermaid tail. Maria is willing to oblige but is having trouble determining what to dress as to match the girl – a fish or a planet? An unholy mix of both? How would that even work?

Maria – she will dress up as a match to whatever Bug / you and Bug choose. (Last year, your family dressed up as characters from Super Mario. Maria was a Yoshi (without the mask because it scared Bug), Kimberly was Peach, and Bug was Toadette. Maria has a picture of the four of you in costume on her fridge.

Kimberly – she hated dressing up, even as a kid. Last year, she was willing to do it for Bug. On all Halloweens she participated in, she dressed as Princess Peach.

Deerly – she always wears one of her black smock dresses and a massive pair of antlers made from sticks on a velvet headband. If Halloween is on a school day, the children sometimes paint her face to look like a deer.

Stacy and Lacy – the pair don’t seem to understand the concept of time, so they don’t dress up unless someone gives them costumes to wear.

[daisychainfiction]

Is Bug safe with María or both are in danger?

Maria is completely safe!

She lives a couple of hours north. The Deerbourners don't leave the compound for long and never go further than the nearest town.

[daisychainfiction]

chapter 3 snippet [2]

if you didn't talk to your mom and Bug at the end of Chapter 2, you're in for a rough conversation in the morning...

[daisychainfiction]

What's the most embarrassing thing the characters have ever done?

Ooo fun. Below the cut!

[ROs]

Annika – Caught by Deerly while having sex with Deerly’s son, Xavier. She was terrified Deerly would have her sent to the woods. When that didn’t happen, Annika settled on mortification. She didn’t speak to Xavier or look at Deerly for a month.

Vardah – has no sense of shame whatsoever. The day she feels embarrassed is the day she’s dead.

Hunter – the quintessential ‘asked a someone to prom and was let down in front of everyone.’ It wasn’t even that embarrassing of a rejection, but he was so sure the feelings were mutual that he was not prepared. Stood there grinning like he thought the person was joking. No one made fun of him to his face, but there was a lot of pity (which was worse in his opinion). He has still not recovered.

Jordan – Was the 'someone' Hunter asked to prom. Unlike Hunter, they have recovered from it. Nowadays, nothing can embarrass them.

Silas – Got super sick but decided to go through with a paid speaking engagement (because broke post-grad). Went up on stage, forgot his notes and talking points. Tried to wing it. Failed spectacularly. Literally fell and got a concussion leaving the stage. Turned out he had pneumonia and could have died if he didn’t get sent to the hospital.

Nadia – Nadia’s biggest embarrassment was writing herself secret admirer letters as a teen – and then getting found out by the biggest loudmouths at Deerbourne, Xavier and Silas.

[Others]

Kimberly – sold fake feet pics online. As in. Silicone mannequin feet that beauty schools use to teach students/ stores use to model shoes. Got found out by Maria and grounded for three weeks.

Maria – couldn’t get into her car in the grocery parking lot. The key fob wasn’t working, so she called a locksmith. ...It wasn’t her car; her car was two rows down. The real owner threatened to call the cops, plus she had to pay the locksmith for their time.

Deerly – redacted for plot purposes 🙃

[daisychainfiction]

Happy new year to buggy can we have snippet of her and mc having a new year with Maria in Bug first year with mc?

this was way sadder than anyone wanted, but I think it's fitting, given the situation.

Once upon a time, you would have been annoyed to spend your New Year's Eve at your mom's apartment.

Once upon a time, the thought of having drool on your shirt instead of spilled vodka would have baffled you.

But now you're here, sitting in front of a television with the sound low and a sleeping baby swaddled against your chest.

This wasn't the life you chose.

This was the life that Kimberly chose for you.

Your mother comes in with a serving tray. You wince as her gait drags, the bad leg working overtime without her cane.

"Mom, let me-"

"It's fine," she shushes you, setting the tray on the coffee table. It's laden with snacks and a bottle of sparkling wine. A baby bottle of formula and two plastic champagne flutes finish the spread.

When she collapses into her recliner with a relieved huff, you feel a wave of malaise overcome the apathy that's been your life for months.

"Hey," Maria says, voice gentle.

You glance at her - the simple movement seems to take hours.

"It'll be okay."

You nod, the motion wooden.

"It'll be a new year."

Another nod. This time, though, you feel a thick ball in your throat, a sob that's been trapped for too long.

A soft sound draws your attention to the baby swaddled against your chest. Her eyes are open and dark.

You swallow past the lump and offer Lily a little smile. "Hey, you," you whisper. "It's almost a new year. Did you know that?"

The baby blinks and wiggles, snuffling and making little smacking noises with her squishy face.

"Aww, is she awake?" your mother asks.

"And hungry, naturally," you chuckle hollowly, reaching for the bottle on the coffee table. You check the temperature before offering it to the baby.

"This next year is gonna be better, right?" you ask her while she eats, her dark eyes focused on you. "We'll make sure of it, huh? Nothing but good stuff allowed."

"The countdown is starting," Maria says from the other side of the room.

But you don't look up. You watch your niece -no, your daughter- and spend the last thirty seconds of the countdown promising her a better future.

"Happy New Year!" your mother announces, uncorking the sparkling wine with a pop.

You and Lily don't react, eyes locked, stuck in your own moment outside of time.

You smile at her and use every ounce of comfort you can muster. "I won't leave you, Buggy-boo," you promise. "Never."