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“Okay,” the chairman banged his gavel and consulted his agenda, while clearing his throat, “Next item... oh, the messaging system.” From the tone of his voice, it was clear that he was not keen on the next topic. He sighed heavily – apparently not caring that he was so close to the microphone, so the sigh echoed throughout the auditorium, clearly audible over the public address system – and continued, “With regards to the recently activated...,” the chairman made a show of consulting his notes, although it seemed unnecessary, “‘SHIMS’ system... the inter-resident messaging system put in place by Mrs. Dijk. There have been complaints about abuse of the system, and the sending of anonymous threatening messages-”

“Bullshit!”

The new voice came not from the board of directors sitting behind their long table on the stage, but from someone in the audience. There was a murmur of discussion as the gathered residents looked around for the source of the unamplified voice.

“Order. Order!” the chairman banged his gavel a few times to silence the ripple of conversation in the crowd, then stared directly at one point in the crowd and spoke with annoyance, “Mrs. Dijk, we have procedures in place here. If you want to say something the chair will have to recognize you.”

This prompted a sudden roar of objections from the crowd, some more gavel-banging, and finally the chairman relented: “The chair will now recognize Guadalupe Dijk, 7001.”

“The chair wouldn’t recognize his own a** if I pulled his head out of it and showed it to him,” the comment was muttered under the breath, but by that point the microphone in her seat had been activated and her image was being projected onto the big screen behind the board member, so the whole auditorium was privy to her opinion of the chairman. There was a ripple of laughter and more gavel-banging, then the woman on the screen smiled a wickedly suspicious grin and said, “Heh, oops.”

For most residents, this was the first time they had seen the infamous Guadalupe Dijk in person, rather than in television or magazine interviews. They turned their heads and strained their necks to get a better look at the woman whose power play had made Saria Heights even possible, after the sudden and tragic death of her husband – the original designer and financier of Saria Heights – Anders Dijk. Anders Dijk had planned and pushed for his whole career, investing most of his substantial inheritance, to make his dream of truly environmentally friendly architecture reality. The man was a legend in the architectural world, and Saria Heights was to be his greatest achievement. Tragically he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and given only months, and never lived to see his dream made real.

And with his death, it almost wasn’t made real. With costs skyrocketing, investors were pressuring to scale back on Anders’ vision and give up on some of the more experimental technologies in favour of old fashioned construction... negating the entire point of the project, which was to show that real green living was possible. That was when Guadalupe entered the scene.

When Anders had married her, there was a lot of gossip about a rich man marrying a woman 20 years his junior, and about the fact that while Anders was an established architect involved in cutting edge technology Guadalupe was just getting started on her career. It certainly seemed like Guadalupe was simply an opportunistic gold-digger, intent on using Anders to further her career, or simply get rich quick off of. When Anders died, it was assumed Guadalupe would just take the inheritance and fade away. That assumption turned out to be quite wrong.

Like a furious storm, Guadalupe burst out of Anders’ shadow, and seized control off all of his corporations and assets. Using a combination of her engineering knowledge to deal with technical concerns, Anders’ former fortune to finance her push for power and sheer brazen chutzpah to handle any detractors, Guadalupe viciously forced the project to completion, as Anders had intended it. So tempestuous and flamboyant was her struggle to see her late husband’s dream completed that she temporarily became a tabloid darling, with stories claiming such things as that she threw things in anger at her subordinates, slept with anyone who could further her plans and was on every kind of drug known to human kind. But Guadalupe succeeded in the end, and at the opening ceremony she dedicated the complex to her late husband... and then disappeared into obscurity.

And now, here she was. Sitting in a homeowners association meeting for the very complex she had fought so hard to see real. You know how they say famous people never live up to their mythology when you meet them in real life? Meet Guadalupe Petalemanto:

She was sitting, slumped in her auditorium seat, wearing a mauve silk robe over a green and yellow polka dot bikini bathing suit – on her feet she wore Dalek slippers; fuzzy grey slippers with plush eye stalks protruding from the toes. On her lap was a laptop, and even though the top was bent downwards, it was quite clear that she had been in the middle of playing solitaire.

“The only person who’s complained about SHIMS has been you,” Lupé continued, “And there were no ‘threatening messages’. The only nasty messages to you were...,” Lupé opened her laptop and start clicking.

“Mrs. Dijk,” the chairman spoke up quickly, intending to cut her off, “I really don’t think it’s necessary to read the-”

“No no,” Lupé snapped overtop of the chairman’s rushed intervention, while still searching through her computer, “I insist. You put it on the record that there were threatening messages. We can’t just leave that hanging. We must deal with it before we move on. Ah, here we go. Apparently you were referred to as a... ‘saggy d***o’... and a... ‘bargain bin douche’... oh and the bag it came in. And then in this one you are called a...”

“Yes, yes, Mrs. Dijk, I think we all-” the chairman tried again to put an end to Lupé’s input.

“It’s Miss Petalemanto.” Lupé cut him off tersely.

So harsh was Lupé’s tone of voice that the auditorium fell quiet, and in the screen her terrifying stare – although directed at the chairman – loomed over the audience. Despite the silly attire, it was now clear to everyone present just why Lupé had been so formidable in the battle to make Saria Heights real. In the uncomfortable silence, the chairman was loathe to speak up again. “I beg your pardon?”

“I am going by my maiden name now,” Lupé said, in a flat voice that brooked no nonsense, “You will stop referring to my late husband’s name, thank you.”

“... I apologize, Miss Petalemanto,” the chairman said awkwardly, “I was not-”

“There were no threatening messages,” Lupé repeated with finality, “There were only juvenile insults sent by some of the building kids in response to your by-laws against playing ultimate frisbee in the quadrangle. I know who they are, and I’ve already spoken to them. I think every resident would agree that SHIMS is a better outlet for their protests than a flaming bag of dog s**t on your doorstep. I move that SHIMS stay as is, and we consider the matter closed.”

The chairman was still staggering, thrown off-balance by the sudden turn in Lupé’s character. “I... uh... yes... er... any seconds?”

The motion was seconded, and passed almost unanimously. Lupé nestled back down in her seat, and returned to her solitaire... quiet for the rest of the residents’ meeting.

But after the meeting, as she was packing up, a young boy came up to her with a grin. “Thanks a lot, Miss Loo.”

Lupé smiled with amusement, “No problem, Asif. I see you took my advice.”

“You bet. ‘Bargain bin douche’ was a great line.”

Lupé put an arm around the boy’s shoulder and led him out of the auditorium with her. “I have a bunch more for you to use, too....”

What I wore
Overalls, workboots, B-52s tshirt

Where I was
Greenhouse
Next to a lounge chair by the pond



“Mrs. Murdoch, this greenhouse isn’t for general use-“

“Do you have any idea who I am, little… gardener? I can see by your vacant expression that you don’t so let me spell this out to you. I run a very successful real estate business and in this economy that’s saying something, so I think I’m perfectly entitled to a few flowers out of your greenhouse for my office, don’t you? That’s a good girl.” The woman was taller and wider than Gabby, tightly wound hair adding a few more inches to her height (not to mention the heels, Gabby couldn’t imagine wearing anything that tall). Assuming the girl would just let her pass; she started to move forward only to find Gabby back in her path.

“Mrs. Murdoch there’s still lots in the community garden open if you wish to grow flowers. These are for the Height’s flower shop.” Okay, so that was partly true. Some of the flowers Gabby tended in the greenhouses were sold in the flower shop but these had actually been snipped from her own plants. Maybe that was why she was actually insistent that the woman couldn’t just take as she pleased. “So technically you’re stealing, ma’am.”

Gabby knew her argument would have sounded better if she wasn’t blushing pink from the collar of her t-shirt to her hairline, but she really couldn’t help it.

Mrs. Murdoch glared at Gabby before finally shoving the bundle of flowers in her arms at the gardener. “You’ll be hearing from me.” She then stormed across the grass toward one of the building. Her rage wasn’t helped when one of her tall heels sank into the grass and she stumbled before recovering her dignity.

“I hope not…” Gabby managed not to lose any of the heavy blooms, suddenly surrounded in a cloud of sweet scent. Peonies. A little smile and she looked at the flowers, gathering them up. “You would have been well suited to her office I’m sure.”

The gardener trekked back into the greenhouse and set the long stems in a sink of water so she could check on the bush they had been cut from. While she knelt in front of the bush in question, she spoke gently to the plant. “You’re fine; I’m just going to trim the rest of these stems down. No point trying to grow more flowers on the ends I’m afraid. You smell heavenly, if that’s any consolation. And you’ll bloom again.”

With the plant consoled and taken care of, Gabby got back to her feet and went back to where she’d left the flowers. It was not as though she could glue the blooms back on, so she wrapped their ends up in a wet towel and put them into a cardboard box she’d been planning to take back to her apartment anyway.

When she emerged from the greenhouse, Gabby had a box in her arms, the pink flowers bobbing petal-heavy heads as she walked. The sky was threatening rain, but she could see someone stretched out in a bikini near one of the ponds. There were only a few people in the whole complex who would be sleeping under the dark clouds, so Gabby changed course toward where Lu was basking in the imaginary sun.

“Lu, you’re going to get all wet…” Gabby said and set her box down and crouching beside Lu. The contents of her box were the peonies (with their heavy, sweet aroma they sort of dominated the box) and a bucket containing bright red strawberries. Gabby’s heavy work gloves were tucked beneath the bucket, the other pair sticking out of her overalls pocket just below her hip. Under the denim, Gabby had a faded grey t-shirt that it was impossible to make the logo out on.

Gabby looked at the pile of dirt and sod, wondering where it had come from and why it was there. She smiled a little, pulling one of the large blooms from the box. The blossom itself was approximately the size of the baseball, pink petals thickly surrounding the center. “Lu it’s getting late you know.”



What I did
Introducing Gabby and her tendency to talk to flowers more than people! After dealing with a lady who wanted to steal her flowers, she went to talk to Lupé

Dress:

1. Green strapless bikini and sunglasses. A small pile of soil and grass is on her stomach.

Location:

1. Reclining on a lounge chair by the pond, next to Gabby.

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Turning her head carefully, while trying to turn as little of her body as possible so as not to displace the pile of dirt on her stomach, Lupé looked around and lifted her sunglasses to see who was speaking. Upon making eye contact with Gabby, Lupé stared at her with a blank expression of astonishment, as if Gabby had just said the craziest thing she had ever heard.

“Why else,” she asked, in an exaggerated regal tone of voice, like a haughty princess speaking down to the riff-raff, “do you think I would be in my bathing suit, then? Hmmmm?”

Then she chuckled and, taking advantage of the fact that Gabby’s hands were full with the box and flower, reached out and poked her in the thigh with a forefinger. “Good grief, Gabby girl. I’ve heard of taking your work home with you, but that’s a little excessive even for you, eh?”

She settled back and stretched, leaving the sunglasses perched on her forehead – still being careful not to upset the pile of soil and grass – and said absently, “You know, I’ve got this picture in my head of your apartment, looking like Poison Ivy’s lair. Everything is covered with this thick undergrowth like in the rainforest, and all the sofa and chairs and everything are huge flowers where you sit on the petals. And I’m going to come over and ask, ‘Where’s the bathroom, Gabby,’ and you’re going to say, ‘Oh, just over there,’ and I’m going to walk over and then CHOMP! A huge Venus flytrap chomps down on me... and I become just another one of your many victims.” Lupé nodded soberly, as if deep in thought, “Yes. Yes, I know it is so.”

“Anyway,” she shrugged, almost as if she were completely shrugging off the whole fantasy she had just immersed herself in and come back to reality. She relaxed back on the deck chair again, once more lowering her sunglasses over her eyes and putting her hands behind her head, “I know it’s getting late, but it’s a Friday night. I like to watch people going out for the night, and laying odds on which ones are going to return later tonight stumbling in a drunken stupor.” She shrugged, “It’s just something to do.”

She tilted her head down so that she could look at Gabby over the rim of the sunglasses, and raised a curious eyebrow. “What are your plans for this evening?” she asked warily, “And please don’t tell me that... that that,” she nodded her chin toward the flower in her hand, “is your date for the evening.” Lupé pursed her lips and nodded in a strangely understanding way, “I mean, if it’s companionship you need, I have some items that will work a lot more effectively than... that... will. Although,” she laid back again and looked blankly up at the sky, unfocussed, lost in thought, and mused, “I suppose I’ve never really given that a try....”

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Summary:

1. Lupé responds to Gabby's chiding with some wry comments, then starts her own chiding of Gabby, asking what her plans for the evening are.

What I wore
Overalls, Workboots, B-52’s tshirt

Where I was
Next to a lounge chair by the pond



Gabby looked at the flower in her hand and swiftly ponked Lupé on the head with it in response to being poked. Her hands might be full but she was certainly not defenseless. The flower was heavy but soft so it was unlikely to hurt the engineer. “You’re being silly. Why would I lure my victims to be eaten by a giant Venus Fly Trap when they make such excellent slow-release fertilizer? I’d simply knock them out using a plant-based concoction of my own making and bury them in the soft loam of my living room.”

This was all said with a little smile but perfectly calm voice. Her eyes were full of mirth though, more than her smile implied. There was a grin in her eyes and only a small upward curve at the corner of her mouth. When Lu brought her attention back to the flowers in her box she gave a little shrug.

“No, they’re not my date. I’d offer you one but I’m not sure I trust your intentions. One of the tenants helped herself to my peonies, so now I have a bouquet on my hands. I have strawberries too, if you want some. It’s more than one person should eat alone.” There was something a little wistful in Gabby’s tone, but it was quickly gone when she spoke again. “I’ll probably be going to go read though.”

She glanced up as the sound of a large group headed toward one of the pools carried across the open grounds. Gabby followed their movement with her eyes for a moment, and then turned her attention back to Lu. Not paying full attention to Lupé was the same as giving her permission to do as she pleased-at least as far as Gabby had ever found.

“And what are you doing? Joining the pool party?” Her funny-colored eyes looked directly at Lu, almost appearing the same color in the evening light and the shadow cast by her dark hair. “Sounds like the place to be.”



What happened
Gabby’s so witty. Only not really, she banters with Lu.

Style
Black skinny jeans, white wife beater, leather cuff, red converses

Place
Heights courtyard headed toward her apartment

Tristan strolled across the sidewalk, loose limbed and relaxed in her movement. Tall and lanky, it was hard to tell that the dark-haired woman was in fact a woman. Her wife beater fit snugly and revealed absolutely no bosom (though it was a nice clean white); and her skinny jeans didn’t show off any particular amount of hip as they went down to a pair of red converse shoes. Short, dark hair wasn’t much of an indicator either with aviators covering her eyes with dark lenses.

Shortly before she would have crossed paths with Kelley, she took notice of the mouse of a girl. Not because she was trying to sneak down the pathway with no pants on (which would have stood out to her anyway) but because of the art on her hoodie. A smile rolled across her lips like a wave, and Tristan lifted a hand, putting her sunglasses up on her forehead. Behind the dark lenses, long-lashed and bright green eyes swept over Kelley. Sweatshirt included what she could see of the girl she looked cute.

“Tristan!” The voice came from behind Kelley, from the group of swimmers who were invading her pool.

A lovely blonde trotted from around behind the gamer, tossing arms around Tristan and smiling coyly up at the taller woman. Tristan was a bit surprised but not unhappy to find a beautiful woman in her arms. But the smile on her lips shifted, less natural but still pleasant.

“Sarah,” she slipped an arm around her waist and leaned down to speak softly in her hear. The blonde laughed lightly, stepping away.

“We’re going swimming, get changed and come, hm?” Sarah, after issuing that invitation, returned toward the pool and the other laughing strangers.

For a second Tristan watched the blonde leave before her eyes green eyes flicked back over to Kelley. Her smile shifted again and she spoke softly as Kelley passed in a low voice. “Live long and prosper, mm?”

With a wink and a widening of her smile, Tristan continued toward her apartment.

Event
Tristan checked out Kelley and was invited to the pool

Kelley Richardson

Wearing:

A pink shirt underneath a Spock hand hoodie, a skirt and a pair of flip flops.

Location:

Fleeing back to her room for her raid.

Though Kelley’s stature remained hunched in an attempt to become invisible, she instantly caught sight of Tristan coming down the walkway. Her eyes scanned the woman for maybe a moment before they returned to their usual spot of staring at the ground. Tristan was taller than her, which wasn’t something she was used to when it came to fellow females. Her eyes flicked over again nervously, they were closer now. Was this person even female? She couldn’t really tell. If this were an anime this person would totally be a guy…but then again, she probably would be too.

The shout had her jumping about a foot in the air, her head flinging to the side to see the blonde woman approach Tristan. This, well this didn’t help her know whether or not this was a guy. She certainly was not one to say the dark haired person was simply because a girl was hanging on her arm. The two seemed comfortable and casual, and she found herself pleased to go unnoticed.

The acknowledgment of her hoodie soon let her know that she had not, in fact, faded back into insignificance. This didn’t bother her as much as it normally would have. If Tristan so much as blinked, she’d miss the half smile that played across Kelley’s lips and the slightest nod in return as she passed. Only after a few more steps towards her apartment did she realize she was blushing slightly. It wasn’t too surprising to her. She often got quite red in the face whenever anyone she didn’t know spoke to her. It had been a long time since anyone had actually recognized and understood one of her clothing choices. Then again, it had also been a long time since she left her room and was actually spotted by someone.

As soon as she got close to her apartment building she sighed to herself and looked down at the clothing in her hands. Another blush soon flushed her cheeks as she looked down to her skirt, scrambling to put it on and keep up her pace. This attempt to be smooth and somewhat nonchalant as she walked was failing, however. After almost tripping, not to mention dropping her watch and shirt in her attempt, she stopped with a sigh and tugged the skirt up her legs. She quickly scrambled to pick up the things she’d dropped, her face now beet red in embarrassment.


Summary:

Kelley sees Tristan and actually ends up smiling her way a little, then almost trips and drops her stuff on the way back to her dorm.

Style
White wife beater, black panties

Place
The pool

Heh, cute. Tristan definitely did not miss the quick little smile. When she was looking at a girl she didn’t miss much. She then moved on, letting the little mouse retreat and fumble to put her skirt on in privacy. One hand lifted up to flick a bit of dark hair from her eyes and the tall woman’s confident stride continued to the poolside.

Near the poolside Tristan spotted Katharine close by. She’d seen her in passing a few times, but didn’t actually know her. If nothing else, she seemed interested in the swimming and laughter, but perhaps didn’t know if she was included? With her shades still on her head (making her hair stick out in funny directions) Tristan called out to Katharine.

“Care to join in the swimming?” Her grin was inviting although not suggestive, green eyes showing the same emotion but little else.

By the time she reached the edge of the pool, there were already several bodies swimming in it, the young woman she had known included. Had it been a smaller party she would have just stripped down completely to swim. Instead she undid the leather cuff on her wrist and put it plus her sunglasses on a plastic chair. Using the arm of the chair for balance, Tristan slid her shoes off her feet and put one on either side of the things already in the chair- socks stuffed one into each shoe. Finally she slid her jeans down off her narrow hips and off. These she folded (no sense wrinkling them, they were good for another wear… or two) and placed next to the rest of her belongings.

Wearing only her tank top and a pair of black undies, Tristan exhibited just as much confidence as she did wearing pants. Skinny as she was, she did have a nice a** at least. It was clear from looking at her (now) that she was a girl, there simply wasn’t anywhere to tuck if she was a man, and she wasn’t displaying a package in those panties.

Within moments, Tristan dove into the water, flipping her hair back out of her face and looking around for Sarah… or anyone else that might appreciate or enjoy her attentions.

Event
Swimming! Invited Katharine to join the partay.

Kelley Richardson

Wearing:

Batgirl panties underneath an oversized Nightwing shirt.

Location:

Fleeing back to her room for her raid.

And so, Kelley managed to grab her dropped items and flee back to her room without interruption. The second the door was closed she sighed in relief and ran to her shower, pulling off her now damp clothing before hopping in and scrubbing the chlorine off of her pale skin. In a panicky rush, she pulled on her sleepwear and flew to her computer, booting it up and getting comfy. As soon as she was logged in she put on her headset and logged into her Blizzard account. Almost instantly a voice came in through her vent. “Hey Kell, ready for tonight’s raid?”

As Kelley was responding, she looked down at her lap and her face went white. "Oh ********. Man, I can't play tonight. I left something important at the pool and I have to go back. I'm so sorry guys!" Before they could protest, she logged off her computer quickly and grabbed a pair of jeans, pulling them on and practically sprinting out the door without a thought. Her heart was racing as she ran to the elevator, bouncing from foot to foot impatiently as she waited for it to reach the lobby.

Halfway to the pool, her body seemed to remember that adrenaline wasn't enough to make up for her sedentary lifestyle. Boy the time she reached the pool area she was panting as if it were a damn marathon she'd just run. Her brain didn't have time to worry about looking stupid as she looked to the people in the pool. "Hey, did any of you find an anklet in the pool? I think it fell off when I was swimming in there. It has a charm that says Kelley on it." She was trying to get the words out between pathetic little gasps, though she was considerably louder than usual.

It was at that moment that she remembered she was loudly speaking to complete strangers and had probably rudely interrupted the fun of the aforementioned strangers. "Umm..." She stared at the party with somewhat widened eyes, biting her lower lip. If her heart had stopped pounding from the running, it certainly had started up again from the fact that she'd drawn attention to herself with a group of strangers.

Summary: Kelley went back to play with her friends, only to realize her anklet was missing and run back to the party in her pajamas.