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"Hi there, you've reached the voicemail of Kathy Li. Leave a message and I'll get back to you."
( Previous messages )
( Disclaimer )
Apartment Above Lukes, Wednesday Morning
Jul. 15th, 2026 01:44 amKathy slept later than usual; for some reason she'd managed to sleep right through her alarm. Groggy and confused, she reached for her phone to see what time it was, but her phone wasn't in its usual spot on her nightstand. With a yawn, she pushed herself up to see if it had fallen on the floor....? No? Well then where--
Cue five minutes of searching, which resulted in Kathy having to fish her phone out from beneath one of her pillows, which happened to be wedged beneath seventy-five plus pounds of dog. "You could have helped," she informed Ronin, who simply barked at her and gave her face a happy lick. "Stop being sweet so I won't be annoyed with you. Now, how did my phone get there in the first place?"
She frowned, and then remembered her weird dream where she'd been texting with Dante. Thanks, Patty, for that, by the way. She had successfully not dreamed about Dante in about six months and now she was starting back at day one. "Did I grab my phone while dreaming?" she asked, pressing her thumb on the screen.
u alwys <3 th fancy stff dork
She stared in horror at the text message. One in a row of text messages, sent at about 3 in the morning. That conversation had been real? Dante had talked to her? Laughed? Called her a dork? And she'd teased and joked back?
This was fine. This was normal. This was growth. Why shouldn't she had a normal conversation with her ex-boyfriend? This was just fine and fucking dandy.
dork
Okay, yeah, forget all that high-minded stuff about how fine it was. Kathy was just going to hold her pillow over her face and scream.
Fuck him. Fuck her. Fuck everything and everyone, forever and ever, amen.
Cue five minutes of searching, which resulted in Kathy having to fish her phone out from beneath one of her pillows, which happened to be wedged beneath seventy-five plus pounds of dog. "You could have helped," she informed Ronin, who simply barked at her and gave her face a happy lick. "Stop being sweet so I won't be annoyed with you. Now, how did my phone get there in the first place?"
She frowned, and then remembered her weird dream where she'd been texting with Dante. Thanks, Patty, for that, by the way. She had successfully not dreamed about Dante in about six months and now she was starting back at day one. "Did I grab my phone while dreaming?" she asked, pressing her thumb on the screen.
u alwys <3 th fancy stff dork
She stared in horror at the text message. One in a row of text messages, sent at about 3 in the morning. That conversation had been real? Dante had talked to her? Laughed? Called her a dork? And she'd teased and joked back?
This was fine. This was normal. This was growth. Why shouldn't she had a normal conversation with her ex-boyfriend? This was just fine and fucking dandy.
dork
Okay, yeah, forget all that high-minded stuff about how fine it was. Kathy was just going to hold her pillow over her face and scream.
Fuck him. Fuck her. Fuck everything and everyone, forever and ever, amen.
Apartment Above Lukes, Wednesday Evening
Jul. 1st, 2026 03:13 pmKathy flopped back onto her couch and looked around. Her bedroom, the kitchen, and Ronin's stuff were both pretty well unpacked and set up, though the rest of the apartment was still a maze of boxes. Still, she'd gotten a lot done over the past day and a half...even less than that, since she'd ended up in Canada for the afternoon. (And how much had she missed that? Just randomly popping to somewhere else for a few hours, the way you might go to the grocery store or the bank anywhere else.)
It felt weird, moving back in here, but it didn't hurt. Maybe a sharp pang or two, but not like moving into 33 Apocalypse might have. There were memories packed into every inch of space, but it didn't feel haunted. It made her miss Raven something fierce, of course, but at least she and Raven had had a proper goodbye. There weren't a hundred unanswered questions left in her wake of her leaving. And moving back in here made her feel closer to Raven, rather than further away.
It was nice to feel close to someone again, even if just through memories.
She took a couple of selfies, sending them to her dad, Parker, and Hardison with the caption remember this place? in front of the bright yellow walls they'd painted with her, and a similar text and picture to several other numbers who hadn't responded in years...but for as long as their voicemails remained open, she'd keep occasionally sending things.
"Good day, hey boy?" Kathy asked. Ronin let out a tired woof. "Yeah, we still have to keep doing this tomorrow, too," she informed him. "But at least there's AC, right?"
For now, though, she was just going to order something delivered (not pizza, no reason) and curl up with her ipad to spend the evening messing around with potential furniture placement in her CAD program and a website for interior decor for anything she decided she wanted to buy. A nice relaxing eveni-- "Oh! I almost forgot!"
She hopped up from the couch to the kitchen, opening her last jar of homemade kimchi (fuck, she missed her kimchi fridge), and spooned out a little bit into an offering bowl. That, and a small glass of wine accompanied her back into the living room, over to the first thing she'd unpacked and set up stood: the small altar with a large picture of Sarah on it, and smaller ones of both of her parents. "Welcome to our new home," she whispered, setting the food and wine down (mostly in front of Sarah's picture) and lighting a stick of incense. "I'm going to be happy here, I promise."
It felt weird, moving back in here, but it didn't hurt. Maybe a sharp pang or two, but not like moving into 33 Apocalypse might have. There were memories packed into every inch of space, but it didn't feel haunted. It made her miss Raven something fierce, of course, but at least she and Raven had had a proper goodbye. There weren't a hundred unanswered questions left in her wake of her leaving. And moving back in here made her feel closer to Raven, rather than further away.
It was nice to feel close to someone again, even if just through memories.
She took a couple of selfies, sending them to her dad, Parker, and Hardison with the caption remember this place? in front of the bright yellow walls they'd painted with her, and a similar text and picture to several other numbers who hadn't responded in years...but for as long as their voicemails remained open, she'd keep occasionally sending things.
"Good day, hey boy?" Kathy asked. Ronin let out a tired woof. "Yeah, we still have to keep doing this tomorrow, too," she informed him. "But at least there's AC, right?"
For now, though, she was just going to order something delivered (not pizza, no reason) and curl up with her ipad to spend the evening messing around with potential furniture placement in her CAD program and a website for interior decor for anything she decided she wanted to buy. A nice relaxing eveni-- "Oh! I almost forgot!"
She hopped up from the couch to the kitchen, opening her last jar of homemade kimchi (fuck, she missed her kimchi fridge), and spooned out a little bit into an offering bowl. That, and a small glass of wine accompanied her back into the living room, over to the first thing she'd unpacked and set up stood: the small altar with a large picture of Sarah on it, and smaller ones of both of her parents. "Welcome to our new home," she whispered, setting the food and wine down (mostly in front of Sarah's picture) and lighting a stick of incense. "I'm going to be happy here, I promise."
Kathy was doing one last sweep around her old apartment. If anybody asked, she'd say that she was making sure nothing had gotten overlooked and left behind, or perhaps that she was doing a few last cleaning and maintenance touch-ups to make sure she got her security deposit back.
She wasn't really doing either of those things. Mostly, she was saying goodbye to the house that had sheltered her over the last two years. And, through that, saying goodbye to the Limbo City itself. She'd been here almost a decade, and in that time she'd learned to love this ridiculous city, demons and all, but it was time to move on, even if only for a little bit. She needed somewhere new, somewhere with new faces and new people--but also familiar, so that she didn't have to go through that 'stranger in a strange land' feeling. Somewhere that had once been home.
Fandom.
She'd given some thought to moving back to LA - not her LA, obviously, but an LA - but no. That was too familiar. No matter what LA she moved back to, it would always be too full of ghosts to let her rest easily.
She'd still be haunted by the faces that weren't part of her life anymore on Fandom, but it would be lighter. Lesser. And...she didn't think she'd stay long. Maybe a few years? Long enough to finish healing, figure out what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go next. A rest stop, kinda.
"Although knowing Fandom, that's not what's gonna happen at all, is it boy?" she asked Ronin, who was flopped on the floor, disapproving of both the weather and the lack of AC. "I'm making grand plans before heading to the place that likes to laugh at the idea of plans in general."
But hey. Maybe that's what she needed, too. A place to shake her up and make her forget all about planning and responsibilities and stuff. Just let her be Kathy for awhile.
"Let's go order that portal, boy."
[Mostly for one guy, but open if other people??? Should want to call?]
She wasn't really doing either of those things. Mostly, she was saying goodbye to the house that had sheltered her over the last two years. And, through that, saying goodbye to the Limbo City itself. She'd been here almost a decade, and in that time she'd learned to love this ridiculous city, demons and all, but it was time to move on, even if only for a little bit. She needed somewhere new, somewhere with new faces and new people--but also familiar, so that she didn't have to go through that 'stranger in a strange land' feeling. Somewhere that had once been home.
Fandom.
She'd given some thought to moving back to LA - not her LA, obviously, but an LA - but no. That was too familiar. No matter what LA she moved back to, it would always be too full of ghosts to let her rest easily.
She'd still be haunted by the faces that weren't part of her life anymore on Fandom, but it would be lighter. Lesser. And...she didn't think she'd stay long. Maybe a few years? Long enough to finish healing, figure out what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go next. A rest stop, kinda.
"Although knowing Fandom, that's not what's gonna happen at all, is it boy?" she asked Ronin, who was flopped on the floor, disapproving of both the weather and the lack of AC. "I'm making grand plans before heading to the place that likes to laugh at the idea of plans in general."
But hey. Maybe that's what she needed, too. A place to shake her up and make her forget all about planning and responsibilities and stuff. Just let her be Kathy for awhile.
"Let's go order that portal, boy."
[Mostly for one guy, but open if other people??? Should want to call?]
Kathy had given her two weeks at the bar, told her landlord she wouldn't be renewing her lease in July, and hired a service to pack up her place. Knowing herself and how much she'd fret over the movers (or try to do their work for them), Kathy had decided to do something she hadn't done in three years: take a vacation. Not just take a few days off and chill in her apartment, but an actual vacation, somewhere new that carried no memories. Somewhere she could make memories.
( She'd never taken a solo vacation before )
Maybe Kathy would play a few games of volleyball and then go back to her room. Maybe she'd continue to flirt with Ethan and see where the night led. Maybe he'd turn out to be a total creeper and she'd end up having to knee him one and tell him to fuck off. Who knew? But the important thing?
She was going to get to find out. No more small. No more boring.
( She'd never taken a solo vacation before )
Maybe Kathy would play a few games of volleyball and then go back to her room. Maybe she'd continue to flirt with Ethan and see where the night led. Maybe he'd turn out to be a total creeper and she'd end up having to knee him one and tell him to fuck off. Who knew? But the important thing?
She was going to get to find out. No more small. No more boring.
Il Pollo, Saturday Afternoon
Jun. 13th, 2026 03:50 amWhen it came to picking out a restaurant, Kathy'd had three restrictions: it couldn't be pizza or ice cream, it had to be fancy enough that Dan--that most people wouldn't bother with, especially on a casual Saturday afternoon, and it couldn't be so fancy that it would feel out of place and weird to be at. And so, she'd ended up eyeing the collections of restaurants on Jones and Serendipity...and if they just happened to be completely across the island from any pizza joints, ice cream shops, or liquor stores, so much the better. In the end, she'd settled on Il Pollo, figuring that that little extra flare of having the name be in Italian would be the most potent deterrent of anything on the street.
How dare you accuse Kathy Li of overthinking things? This was a perfectly normal level of preparation--at least, it was if you were meeting up with your ex-boyfriend (always ex-boyfriend, never just ex, never ever)'s dead mother for lunch.
And now she just had to finish giving herself a silent little peptalk to remind herself of the restrictions she'd placed on herself for lunch: no asking. No angling. No casually leading comments. If Eva decided to bring up certain topics of conversation, that was one thing, but Kathy certainly wouldn't be.
No reason to pull Eva into the middle of this. Not that there was a 'this' to be in the middle of.
...And also, she could admit to herself, it was pride. She knew better to think that Dante would be asking his mother anything about her this afternoon, and wouldn't even need a series of ridiculous rules about it.
[For the lady mentioned, if she'd be so kind!]
How dare you accuse Kathy Li of overthinking things? This was a perfectly normal level of preparation--at least, it was if you were meeting up with your ex-boyfriend (always ex-boyfriend, never just ex, never ever)'s dead mother for lunch.
And now she just had to finish giving herself a silent little peptalk to remind herself of the restrictions she'd placed on herself for lunch: no asking. No angling. No casually leading comments. If Eva decided to bring up certain topics of conversation, that was one thing, but Kathy certainly wouldn't be.
No reason to pull Eva into the middle of this. Not that there was a 'this' to be in the middle of.
...And also, she could admit to herself, it was pride. She knew better to think that Dante would be asking his mother anything about her this afternoon, and wouldn't even need a series of ridiculous rules about it.
[For the lady mentioned, if she'd be so kind!]
Devil May Cry, Limbo City, Friday Evening
Aug. 28th, 2020 12:53 pmWas Kathy nervous about tonight? Pfft, of course not. Don't be silly! Kathy was totally not a ball of anxiety over Dante and Barry meeting! Why would she be? It was just the first time her beloved boyfriend and her oldest school friend were going to be introduced. And decide if they liked each other. Not that either were weirdly touchy about things, either!
Thank god Anders and Barry were old friends or she might have had a complete meltdown at some point.
But now dinner was almost done cooking - they were having bulgolgi and it was delicious, thank you very much - and she was wearing something cute and pretty and everything was going to be fine.
Now just to practice the little introduction speech she'd already memorized...
Which was a totally fine and normal thing to do!
[For the nerds, no OCD]
Thank god Anders and Barry were old friends or she might have had a complete meltdown at some point.
But now dinner was almost done cooking - they were having bulgolgi and it was delicious, thank you very much - and she was wearing something cute and pretty and everything was going to be fine.
Now just to practice the little introduction speech she'd already memorized...
Which was a totally fine and normal thing to do!
[For the nerds, no OCD]
For the last...month? Or so? Dante (and sometimes Anders, but usually Dante, his chest was broader), had gotten to experience the joy of falling asleep with a two-foot tall bouncy antelope kneeling on his chest. Look, between that, the nigh-constant sproinging, and the fact that his cat repeatedly picked fights with his girlfriend because she was snotty and spoiled (unclear pronoun used deliberately), and it had really just been a great goddamn month for the residents of DMC.
At some point thestranglehold the world has had on my brain whimsy of Fandom finally eased, leaving girl behind where klipspringer used to be.
Still curled up on Dante, though, and now significantly heavier. Because why should the universe give that guy a break?
[For the guys and the visitor if they want!]
At some point the
Still curled up on Dante, though, and now significantly heavier. Because why should the universe give that guy a break?
[For the guys and the visitor if they want!]
It had been ten days since the kids had left and Kathy was mostly back to normal. The fact that it was the end of the semester had probably helped a bit in that regard - it was possible to be maudlin and to study your ass off, but it took a lot more energy than Kathy really had to spare.
Her immediate plans for the evening - more studying, finals started on Monday - had been immediately derailed when Dante had declared it a night off, carrying her downstairs to a pillow pile, made from what looked to be every pillow in the damn house. As if that wasn't dirty enough, he plied her with a mixing bowl full of ice cream, whipped cream, and caramel sauce, a similar-sized sundae for him on the other side of the nest.
Ice cream, blankets, pillows, and boyfriend. The perfect recipe to get rid of post-kid and pre-finals blues.
[Dante modded with permission!]
Her immediate plans for the evening - more studying, finals started on Monday - had been immediately derailed when Dante had declared it a night off, carrying her downstairs to a pillow pile, made from what looked to be every pillow in the damn house. As if that wasn't dirty enough, he plied her with a mixing bowl full of ice cream, whipped cream, and caramel sauce, a similar-sized sundae for him on the other side of the nest.
Ice cream, blankets, pillows, and boyfriend. The perfect recipe to get rid of post-kid and pre-finals blues.
[Dante modded with permission!]
Suite in the Arms, Saturday Morning
Apr. 11th, 2020 01:20 amKathy knew that she was probably one of the very few who thought this way, but the weekend after prom was pretty much her favorite time of year. Certainly her favorite of all the weird tricks the island pulled.
So late last night, she and Dante had decamped from Limbo City to the hotel; Anders had an important surgery that was expected to last hours, but he'd promised to come along if he could. But for now, it was just the two of them and...well, however many happened to show up.
"Wonder who we'll get this year," Kathy murmured, looking out the window towards the park.
So late last night, she and Dante had decamped from Limbo City to the hotel; Anders had an important surgery that was expected to last hours, but he'd promised to come along if he could. But for now, it was just the two of them and...well, however many happened to show up.
"Wonder who we'll get this year," Kathy murmured, looking out the window towards the park.
Last year, Dante had surprised them all but good with his Roseapalooza and decision to make breakfast. Kathy wasn't quite that crazy - that was reserved for Christmas, with minor bleedthrough for Thanksgiving - but she wasn't going to let this year go without a return volley.
Which meant baking. In a tiny red pinup apron over never-you-mind and heels definitely not intended for use in the kitchen, but still...baking. And, you know, a bit of tempering and molding chocolate, too. But by that afternoon, she had a two dozen roses for Dante and two dozen roses for Anders.
And a couple extra each for herself because she wasn't stupid thank you. She loved them, but the boys were bad at sharing.
Food, anyway.
Which meant baking. In a tiny red pinup apron over never-you-mind and heels definitely not intended for use in the kitchen, but still...baking. And, you know, a bit of tempering and molding chocolate, too. But by that afternoon, she had a two dozen roses for Dante and two dozen roses for Anders.
And a couple extra each for herself because she wasn't stupid thank you. She loved them, but the boys were bad at sharing.
Food, anyway.
Antigua, Saturday Night
Dec. 21st, 2019 03:58 pmKathy's kotatsu had died an undignified death and the repair (something about proper voltage) was complicated enough to require several days of work. Faced with a girlfriend sad about the cold and, more importantly, faced with a girlfriend's frigid feet, Dante had made the executive decision that they needed a tropical vacation. Immediately. So last week, he'd basically shoved the entire household through a portal that opened to a small island in the Caribbean, complete with blue ocean, white sand, and an all-inclusive menu that contained more fruity booze cocktails than actual food items.
The week had been fun, in a lazy, let's-not-do-anything way, which had also had the side benefit of short-circuiting Kathy's "Christmas Crazy." She'd sprawled in the sun and read trashy novels and swam in the ocean and practiced her Spanish without a care. In fact, she'd lost track of the date until they were talking about returning home tomorrow and she realized that, oh shit, today was her birthday. (And also Dante's, but they didn't talk about that.)
A quick conversation with the resort, somehandwavy phone calls to invite guests, and more fairy lights than a grown woman should really need and their little villa was turned into a tropical wonderland birthday party.
[Open! If you think you'd get a phone call (for either Kathy or Dante), you did! Dante modded with permission. No OCD]
The week had been fun, in a lazy, let's-not-do-anything way, which had also had the side benefit of short-circuiting Kathy's "Christmas Crazy." She'd sprawled in the sun and read trashy novels and swam in the ocean and practiced her Spanish without a care. In fact, she'd lost track of the date until they were talking about returning home tomorrow and she realized that, oh shit, today was her birthday. (And also Dante's, but they didn't talk about that.)
A quick conversation with the resort, some
[Open! If you think you'd get a phone call (for either Kathy or Dante), you did! Dante modded with permission. No OCD]
OOC: Info Post Oldies But Goodies
Aug. 28th, 2019 10:28 amNew girl gets her own, but it's gonna take longer and I need something I can point at and say, "I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED A THING!"
Y'all know those days.
So, the old crew!
( 'Pretty damn nimble for a zombie.' 'You should have seen her when she was alive. It was like watching a superball bouncing in a closet.' )
***
( A proper lady should be able to smile pretty, wear sequins like she means it, and kick a man's ass nine ways from Sunday while wearing stiletto heels. If she can't do that much, she's not trying hard enough. )
***
( I have a 24-year-old genius with a smart phone, and a problem with authority. You never really stood a chance. )
***
( He says it is vrajna for a Tsingano man to attempt the dromonde, Hyacinthe; worse than anything, worse than mingling with a gadje servant. What your mother teaches you is forbidden. )
***
( Ranon blinked. He'd never heard anyone say 'Kiss Kiss' and have it mean 'shove a knife up your ass.' )
***
( I am 100% that bitch )
Y'all know those days.
So, the old crew!
( 'Pretty damn nimble for a zombie.' 'You should have seen her when she was alive. It was like watching a superball bouncing in a closet.' )
( A proper lady should be able to smile pretty, wear sequins like she means it, and kick a man's ass nine ways from Sunday while wearing stiletto heels. If she can't do that much, she's not trying hard enough. )
( I have a 24-year-old genius with a smart phone, and a problem with authority. You never really stood a chance. )
( He says it is vrajna for a Tsingano man to attempt the dromonde, Hyacinthe; worse than anything, worse than mingling with a gadje servant. What your mother teaches you is forbidden. )
( Ranon blinked. He'd never heard anyone say 'Kiss Kiss' and have it mean 'shove a knife up your ass.' )
***
( I am 100% that bitch )
This is what happens when you stopped listening to the radio for the island; you were taken by surprise when you stepped on the island and saw that half of it looked like it belonged somewhere and somewhen else. Like, even moreso than usual.
Even with all the differences in the island, the first rift took Kathy by surprise as it opened up under her feet, too wide for her to bounce out. It reminded her a little too much of that column of light that had grabbed her to bring her to LA. Only this time it was down instead of up and when she looked around...
"Okay, I am not in Kansas anymore."
[For thems what are there with her.]
Even with all the differences in the island, the first rift took Kathy by surprise as it opened up under her feet, too wide for her to bounce out. It reminded her a little too much of that column of light that had grabbed her to bring her to LA. Only this time it was down instead of up and when she looked around...
"Okay, I am not in Kansas anymore."
[For thems what are there with her.]
Jar of kimchi, festooned with a bow and in a cute gift bag? Check.
Pair of tickets for a day spa? Also check.
Super-modest bathing suit bought explicitly for this occasion? Triple check.
Look, between their sort-of fight, his trip with Dante, the trouble with Zeke after prom, and his upcoming exhibition, Kathy was betting that Ez was feeling a little frayed around the edges. And, well, sometimes the best cure for that was a little bit of pampering.
Here was hoping Ez felt the same way.
Knock knock.
[For him in the post!]
Pair of tickets for a day spa? Also check.
Super-modest bathing suit bought explicitly for this occasion? Triple check.
Look, between their sort-of fight, his trip with Dante, the trouble with Zeke after prom, and his upcoming exhibition, Kathy was betting that Ez was feeling a little frayed around the edges. And, well, sometimes the best cure for that was a little bit of pampering.
Here was hoping Ez felt the same way.
Knock knock.
[For him in the post!]
Due to owning a business, Kathy sometimes got very weird, not-at-all-related-to-her-business offers from vendors trying to establish a working relationship. Most she tossed, but occasionally something really cool would end up in her inbox. Like a pair of tickets for a Murder Mystery Dinner, taking place on a newly-renovated luxury train from the 1930s. People would sign up, choose a character from the list of possible dinner attendees, and then show up and ride the train around Limbo City for a few hours, having dinner and trying to solve the whodunnit.
Kathy had been charmed from the start and had pretty much decided to go immediately. The question of who to take was answered when she spotted that one of the characters listed was a "rich rock star."
That made it easy.
One conversation of 'You don't have to dress up and you can bring your guitar!' and 'pleeeeease, it sounds like a ton of fun!' later, and Kathy and Dante had their tickets and were waiting to board the extravagant train cars of The Flying Pussyfoot for four hours of delicious, murdery fun!
[For the poor sap who agreed to this]
Kathy had been charmed from the start and had pretty much decided to go immediately. The question of who to take was answered when she spotted that one of the characters listed was a "rich rock star."
That made it easy.
One conversation of 'You don't have to dress up and you can bring your guitar!' and 'pleeeeease, it sounds like a ton of fun!' later, and Kathy and Dante had their tickets and were waiting to board the extravagant train cars of The Flying Pussyfoot for four hours of delicious, murdery fun!
[For the poor sap who agreed to this]
House in Limbo City, Limbo City, Friday
Apr. 19th, 2019 01:53 amWith her mom's kimchi recipe now in her possession, Kathy figured she should try to make some. Without a proper kimchi fridge, she couldn't make much, but she figured she could probably get away with one or two jars in the back of the fridge. With her mom's recipe in hand, her children behind her and the gijesa of her whole family on Monday (though her parents got short shrift compared to Sarah), family was kind of on her mind a lot.
Her usual strawberry Yakult had been swapped for banana milk and she had a bowl of injulmi rice balls to snack on when her hands weren't covered with red pepper flakes or salt. She sang as she worked, TARA and BTS and Super Junior blaring from her phone, dancing around the kitchen chopping vegetables, salting water, simmering the glutinous rice powder.
For the first time since she moved in, the house - or, at least, the kitchen - really smelled like home.
[Open for visitors or phone calls or them guys what live here!]
Her usual strawberry Yakult had been swapped for banana milk and she had a bowl of injulmi rice balls to snack on when her hands weren't covered with red pepper flakes or salt. She sang as she worked, TARA and BTS and Super Junior blaring from her phone, dancing around the kitchen chopping vegetables, salting water, simmering the glutinous rice powder.
For the first time since she moved in, the house - or, at least, the kitchen - really smelled like home.
[Open for visitors or phone calls or them guys what live here!]
Arms Hotel, Saturday Morning
Apr. 13th, 2019 12:14 amOkay, so for all the complaining about having to get up early - especially after a night chock-full of pollen - this was Kathy's favorite weekend of the year. Surrounded by kids who called her mom, arguing over breakfast, listening to them babble on about their likes and interests and hopes, singing them to sleep at night. Even with as a late an evening as they'd had, she was still up, bright and early, humming around the public room of the suite, readying it for tiny visitors.
A hotel room meant that she had to rely on room service for breakfast, but she made due, making sure to order plenty of fruit (heavy on the strawberries), and juice, and more bacon and sausage than any one room really ought to have.
Now to wait for folks to start showing up!
[Open for all tiny children and their parents, whether related or not!]
A hotel room meant that she had to rely on room service for breakfast, but she made due, making sure to order plenty of fruit (heavy on the strawberries), and juice, and more bacon and sausage than any one room really ought to have.
Now to wait for folks to start showing up!
[Open for all tiny children and their parents, whether related or not!]
Los Angeles, Fandom's Reality, Sunday
Apr. 7th, 2019 09:07 amIt took several days (and several nights' worth of nightmares) for Kathy to face what she really needed to do. It wasn't LA that she was hoping she'd find alive.
It was her family.
She knew that there were other versions of her that existed elsewhere. There was Lady, in Limbo City, and every time something weird happened on Fandom. Maybe there would be one that existed here, too. Maybe she'd see her family, alive, one more time - just verify that they were safe, and happy, and doing okay. That was all she needed. Then she could collect the guys and her dog and go home to Limbo City. That wasn't too much to ask, was it.
They'd called Dante that morning to join them on their last day in the city and then, after lunch, she'd left them and Ronin behind to finish this one last task. This was just one of those things, she had to do alone.
( It was uncanny, how much it looked like home. )
Kathy left several hours later, carrying a reusable shopping bag full of banana milk, various blends of tea and several jars of kimchi. More importantly, she also had a recipe for kimchi. Not just any recipe, either. Her mother's recipe, shared with Mrs. Park one winter day the first year the Lis had moved in. That alone was worth the trip.
And...her family was out there. Somewhere. They existed. Somewhere, there was a Sarah Li, brash and sassy, finishing up her last year of high school. And there was a Kathy Li, hopefully spreading her wings at a college some where, learning to be her own person. Mrs. Park didn't have - or wouldn't share - their contact information, but honestly? That was enough. There was another world with her family in it, neither bitten by zombies nor summoning demons, living and laughing and loving.
Today, that was enough.
[Mooostly establishy? But also for those guys she's with. And, surprising no one, I wrote a goddamned book.]
It was her family.
She knew that there were other versions of her that existed elsewhere. There was Lady, in Limbo City, and every time something weird happened on Fandom. Maybe there would be one that existed here, too. Maybe she'd see her family, alive, one more time - just verify that they were safe, and happy, and doing okay. That was all she needed. Then she could collect the guys and her dog and go home to Limbo City. That wasn't too much to ask, was it.
They'd called Dante that morning to join them on their last day in the city and then, after lunch, she'd left them and Ronin behind to finish this one last task. This was just one of those things, she had to do alone.
( It was uncanny, how much it looked like home. )
Kathy left several hours later, carrying a reusable shopping bag full of banana milk, various blends of tea and several jars of kimchi. More importantly, she also had a recipe for kimchi. Not just any recipe, either. Her mother's recipe, shared with Mrs. Park one winter day the first year the Lis had moved in. That alone was worth the trip.
And...her family was out there. Somewhere. They existed. Somewhere, there was a Sarah Li, brash and sassy, finishing up her last year of high school. And there was a Kathy Li, hopefully spreading her wings at a college some where, learning to be her own person. Mrs. Park didn't have - or wouldn't share - their contact information, but honestly? That was enough. There was another world with her family in it, neither bitten by zombies nor summoning demons, living and laughing and loving.
Today, that was enough.
[Mooostly establishy? But also for those guys she's with. And, surprising no one, I wrote a goddamned book.]
Kathy and Anders (and Ronin!) had arrived in the Los Angeles early Tuesday afternoon and had spent the last two days just being the most stereotypical tourists the city could ask for. There had been tours around Hollywood in double-decker buses (including a fifteen minute span where Kathy white-knuckled Anders' hand as they drove past Paramount Studios), taking pictures of various stars of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and visited the Korean Bell of Friendship. Everywhere they went, they were surrounded by throngs of people: other tourists, native Angelenos just trying to go about their day, students, even the occasional celebrity. It did Kathy's heart good to see so many people walking the streets, doing their own thing, just living their lives.
But the nightmares were still there. By morning on Thursday, she was reluctantly admitting that, maybe just sticking to tourist spots probably wasn't going to cut it. She wasn't attached to any of these places, not emotionally. They hadn't been her beats, hadn't been where she'd seen the worst of it.
So today, they'd gone to Griffith's Observatory. It had been one of Kathy's favorite places even before Fandom. It had been where Anders had surprised her with prom.
( ...It had been where she'd spent several weeks in the planetarium tied to a chair, entranced by the projection of the universe, as an ex. )
The opening strains of music swelled from the speakers and a star shot across the screen above them. And Kathy pushed herself to her feet and darted out the door.
[For that guy!]
But the nightmares were still there. By morning on Thursday, she was reluctantly admitting that, maybe just sticking to tourist spots probably wasn't going to cut it. She wasn't attached to any of these places, not emotionally. They hadn't been her beats, hadn't been where she'd seen the worst of it.
So today, they'd gone to Griffith's Observatory. It had been one of Kathy's favorite places even before Fandom. It had been where Anders had surprised her with prom.
( ...It had been where she'd spent several weeks in the planetarium tied to a chair, entranced by the projection of the universe, as an ex. )
The opening strains of music swelled from the speakers and a star shot across the screen above them. And Kathy pushed herself to her feet and darted out the door.
[For that guy!]
