CAKE: The Time of Her Life [TTHL]
Author: Harper Kingsley
Tags: Dahl Quinzant, serial
Summary: Drabbles strung together in the Cakeverse. Shifting POVs and styles.
*
I am a constant hand washer. To the point that people have begun to make jokes.
Seriously, I wash my hands because I know where my hands have been. I’m always cleaning up after messy people. And sometimes there’s not a pair of gloves handy.
* * *
The strangest thing about Dahl Quinzant was her obsession with vinyl gloves and cleanliness. She had a well-known obsession with washing her hands.
Books had been written about her hand washing obsession and various interests in hygiene. Psychologists and commentators produced hundreds of vlog entries about it.
* * *
One of the first jobs she was able to get after her breakdown was transcribing videos and creating blog posts for a popular vlogger. With a single blog editor account she was able to submit content for the admin to publish. And once a month she got that desperately needed $1000.
It had taken a while, but she’d finally been able to afford a Life Manager. It was a program that worked naturally with Dragon and other transcription programs. And it put her life into desperately needed order.
She spoke commands to her LM, and it created her daily schedule. It was able to add things to her schedule, but could not remove them without her voice and touch commands. So there were always fresh options popping up, custom-built to her profile specs.
Once she had a Life Manager, she didn’t have to be so afraid all the time. There was always a guiding voice offering her options and possessing a near-human personality and responsiveness. Even knowing LeM was nothing more than algorithms strung together, she began to like speaking with him. So much so that even after she was able to afford an actual human manager, she still used LeM for her personal notes.
He spoke to her manager when she was having a No Contact day. When the very thought of having to talk to an actual person made her want to scream. In those times the only people she wanted around her were her family, and she found herself being snappish with them.
It was during No Contact times that LeM truly shone. He suggested and sent emails and smoothed ruffled feathers. He kept her moving when she would have happily curled up in a ball on her bed and given up. He was her rock when she felt like falling down. Without him her life would have unfurled like a thread caught on the nail of her mental health. By the time she’d realize what was going on, it would be too late to fix any problems.
But LeM kept her on track. He protected her when she didn’t have the wherewithal to take care of herself. It was because of him that no one knew how messed up in the head she was.
* * *
Throughout the latter half of her life, Dahl Quinzant was never without her aide LeM. She had the LeM program installed into the Personal Doll she bought in 2089 and every one after it.
There has been some question as to the mental state of the actress. A known introvert that battled weight issues, Dahl had been known to suffer verbal outbursts at various times in her life. There were rumors that Dahl had suffered some form of physical assault in her youth that resulted in her personality disorders. [These statements have not been verified and there has been some question as to their veracity. Use at your own risk.]
TBC…
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