#oc: cassava flores

[theamari-blog]

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Chapter 1.6 The Wolf At the Door

  My reminiscing was interrupted by the chirp of my phone, and my stomach dropped. I knocked back my coffee alongside an ibuprofen and squared my shoulders. Wincing at the exuberant wallpaper, I walked into the first floor guest room we affectionately called the Flamingo room to grab a cardboard box full of paper bags. Each bag was a care package, containing a metallic emergency blanket, a pair of socks, and a protein bar.

  “Cass, I’ll be downstairs,” I called.

  “Have fun in your creepy bunker.”

  I unlocked the basement door revealing metal stairs descending into the inky dark.

  Creepy indeed.

Second story update because I’m trying to wrap up this first chapter by next week. Thanks to everyone for reblogs and liking so far! I know it’s a slow start but it will get interesting soon (ish) promise.

[theamari-blog]

Chapter 2.7: Successors

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I headed into the blue-tiled kitchen and rummaged through the shelves for cat food.

“More like Captain Hungrypants,” I muttered, opening a can, and gagged as the smell made my hungover stomach roil.

I yelled, “Mealtime!”

Captain Eyepatch streaked across the kitchen towards the bowl and yowled at me. I glared down at him. “Yeah, yeah sorry it’s late.”   

The stray started hanging around the property several years back, and Tita Perlina probably felt sorry for the black tomcat on account of his scarred face and one milky-white eye. Yet somehow, it had fallen to me to care for the grumpy feline. He deigned to let me feed and bathe him, but if I tried to show him any semblance of affection, he’d hiss and take off for parts unknown.

Transcript Continued under cut

“See he’s doing it again,” Cass said, peeking in from the gift shop.

“Doing what?”

“Just staring at you,” Cass shivered. “Like he’s hunting you.”

I hustled her back into the shop. I’ve never actually seen Captain Eyepatch eat food, just that it disappeared like clockwork. I chalked it up to another one of the cat’s eccentricities in a house full of them.

“Ma wants to set you up with cousin Berto,” Cass said as she tidied up her workspace.

I groaned. Tita Lourdes was a typical Filipino mother, a well-meaning busybody who couldn’t understand why I was thirty-three, and still unmarried.

“Should I tell her about Jameson?“

“God no, then she’d invite him to dinner and scare him off,” I scoffed.

Jameson was my current friend-with-benefits. Every other week, we fell into bed together.

Simple. Clear-cut. Mess-free.

“Is he the reason you’re wearing that coat?” Cass snorted. “Role play?”

“Circle 9 dress code,” I replied. Though I had stopped by his place after my shift.

Before Cass could answer, the doorbell rang.

[theamari-blog]

Chapter 2.6 : Successors

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“She really called you long-distance to tell you how to do her laundry?” Cass shook her head at Eloisa’s audacity.

“She’s practically the Waywarden, it’s her right to micromanage.”

“Yeah well, she acts like you weren’t here first. And older.”

I winced at that, but the fact that Cass is Team Dia Montes, makes me feel marginally better. I had been Tita P’s successor once, but a mistake early in my apprenticeship ended  the possibility. Tita P had to come back from South America just to clean up that mess.

No, Eloisa Morales was the perfect successor.

Tita P theorized that Compass House and other Liminal houses had been built because this Earth realm (and yes, there are many Earth realms) lay on a particularly bountiful nexus of Thinnings. These frayed spots in the fabric of realities drew Stryx here like flies to a bloated corpse.

At 25, Eloisa had deciphered the timing of these Thinnings, which had made it much safer to open the Doors. There was no need for my Knowing, not when science and math took out the guesswork.

Not only that, she was polished and beautiful, with just enough magic in her moneyed bloodline to fit in seamlessly with Stryx. Her star was on the rise, and I was content to fade into the background, doing the small, needful things.

Like now.

*apologies Mercury RX has been kicking my ass.

** Also this poem.

[theamari-blog]

Chapter 2.5: Successors

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   I opened my eyes. Captain Eyepatch swatted at my face from his perch on my chest. “Who let you in here?”

   I must have fallen asleep and missed his feeding.

   “Dia?” Cass called down through the basement door. “Eloisa’s been calling.”

   Shit.

Transcript continued under the cut.

   I checked my phone for the time. 5 PM. “Really? It’s like dawn in the Philippines.”

   My phone buzzed angrily in my hand. I hit the answer button, “Eloisa.” 

My screen showed the grad student looking flawless despite  her being up at dawn. Eloisa frowned, “Why do you look… tired?”

I refrained from pointing out I was in my 30s, and therefore always tired. I walked up the stairs, and locked the basement door behind me. “I had a shift at the club.”

   “Compass House should be your priority,” Eloisa said with a flip of her lustrous hair, “There’s a Thinning in two hours. Yakov Belsky is on his way. Anything to report?”

  “Just a Vore-kin. How’s Tita P?”

  “Still asleep. But we’re making progress on the dig.”

  “That’s great!” I said.

  “It’s just-“ Eloisa hesitated, and I raised an eyebrow. The woman made everything look effortless, so this was new.

  “Go on,” I prompted. Foreboding tickled the back of my neck, though I wasn’t sure if that was my Knowing or just run-of-the-mill anxiety.

  “It feels off. The locals seem spooked.”

  “Tell Tita P,” I urged.

  Eloisa shook her head, “It’s nothing. Hey, I left some laundry there the other day. You mind throwing them in the wash?”

   “Where’d you leave it?” I asked.

   “The library. Make sure to air dry the silks.”

  With that, Eloisa hung up, leaving my face alone on the screen. She was right, I did look tired. Not to mention sad. Par for course for someone about to lose her job and home.

[theamari-blog]

15 OC Questions: Cassava Flores

Are you named after anyone ? Not a person, but does a root vegetable count? Continuing the great Filipino tradition of naming children after Catholic saints or the most random shit possible. Me, I’d rather be named after a vegetable.

When was the last time you cried? I usually cry myself to sleep. Highly recommend.

Do you have kids ? You’re funny.

Do you use sarcasm? What do you think?

What’s the first thing you notice about people ? Their vibe.

What’s your eye color? Brown

Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings.

Any special talents? I’m pretty crafty with herbs and stuff.

Where were you born ? Down the street at Mount Sinai (Queens, NYC)

What are your hobbies? Reading, thrifting, making stuff with herbs and dried flowers.

Have you any pets ? I really want a dog but we live in a tiny apartment so my mom says it’s a no-no. Maybe when I’m in college.

What sports do you play/have played? I bike. Does that count?

How tall are you? 5′ 7″

Favorite subject in school? English, if I had to choose.

Dream job?  I wouldn’t mind having my own little shop someday, where I sell my creations.

CC Under the Cut

Headphones by @ashwwa // Eye Makeup // Lipstick // Shirt Dress and Undershirt by @sforzcc // Bike shorts by @ciao-cc  //Socks by @liliili-sims4 // Shoes by @jius-sims

[theamari-blog]

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Chapter 1.1 - The Wolf at the Door

“Your cat is creepy.”

I glared blearily at Cass, then down at the scarred tom cat prowling the driveway of Compass House. Both had watched my trudge of shame down Crescent Street with varying degrees of interest.

“Captain Eyepatch is not my cat. He’s like a bodega cat. More coworker than pet.” 

“But you named him. What kind of name is Captain Eyepatch anyway?” Cass asked and slurped her boba tea. I winced at the sound. Usually, I envied her ability to pull off blue hair, emo makeup, and piercings, but the whole combination was a little too much for my alcohol-addled brain.

“His face,” I grumbled. I walked past Cass to unlock one of the blue North Doors at the front of Compass House. She followed, still slurping her Boba.

While I wrangled my keys she peered over at Captain Eyepatch again.

“Oh. How’d that happen?”

CC Details and Extras under the cut!

*A note about format. Waywarden & The Soulbound was written as a serial novel. As much as I would like to turn every single page into a fun comic, it’s not sustainable. So there will  probably be a mix of sequential stuff and prose or maybe just an elaborately edited pic to illustrate a specific section. But there will always be prose. Hope that doesn’t scare you off. Thanks for reading!

CC Used

Dia: shades by @xldkx-cc / star earrings @pyxiidis / mesh body & gloves + trench coat @belaloallure3 / boots @madlensims / key acc by @beto-ae0

Hungover Poses:  Morning after by @quiddity-jones & @joannebernice / Long Night by @cowberrytea / Super Surprise Gift Pose (keys) by @beto-ae0 / Used this Walkstyle Mod by @/abidoang (found on ModtheSims) in the gif.

Cass: Petra Hair by @okruee w/ ombre by @kamiiri / Eyeliner by @prichalnaya / Lipstick by @uxji / choker by @madlensims / hungerstrike bottoms (overalls) by @kismet-sims / cropped button-up by @trillyke / boba acc by @natalia-auditore

Poses: Ayato Boba Poses by Natalia Auditore / walking and talking pose by @simmerberlin

Captain Eyepatch: pet eyes herechromia @pralinesims

Service Cat Poses by @starrysimsie

GIF Deco Sims also by @/xldkx-cc and @starrysimsie

[theamari-blog]

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Chapter 1.3- The Wolf At the Door

  Tita P was Perlina Ramos, Waywarden of Compass House, Professor of Anthropology, and our boss. Tita means ‘auntie’ in Filipino, conveying both respect and affection towards an older woman, not necessarily a blood relative. As far as I was concerned, she was family.    “Eloisa doesn’t do anything unless it gets her accolades,” Cass snorted, referring to Tita P’s assistant and successor. “Why you leaving me, Dia? I’m stuck with that dumb cat and Ms. Perfect until I go to college.”    “It’s for the best,” I walked through a door that into the adjoining kitchen, not wanting to admit I hadn’t found a place yet.

[theamari-blog]

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Chapter 1.2 - The Wolf at the Door

  “He came to us that way, scars and all,” I said, wondering why we were still talking about the damn cat. Though I should be grateful she hadn’t commented on the fact I was wearing a trench coat in July. Serves me right for not coming straight home last night.

  Once I got the North Door open, Cass followed me into the cramped gift shop.  The shelves lining the slate blue walls were filled with crystals, candles, and occult books. On top of an old card catalog was Cass’ workspace where she mixed up liniments, salves and herbal remedies. These along with her mother’s artisanal candles and tarot readings were all on offer in the shop, though most of our customers shopped online these days.

   “You’re taking him with you when you move right? He gives me the heebie-jeebies,” she said.

   “Tita P insists I keep feeding the feral bastard, but he stays here,” I said, surveying the little shop with a pang of melancholy. “Who knows what Eloisa will do with him when she takes over.”

CC below cut:

Dia: ( see previous for rest of outfit cc) harness by @plazasims // pose #1 by @/starrysims and pose #2 @dearkims

Cass: (see previous for rest of outfit cc)  pose by @/simmerberlin

Gift shop CC: card catalog by @leaf-motif // mini retail counter by @/reitanna // herbal potions etc by @aroundthesims // mini cauldron by @sims41ife // lightbeams by @natalia-auditore // Oval Rug (recolor) by @pictureamoebae

Also used @littledica ‘s Streamer Utilities to film that gif.