andrea eleanora de luca. 24. fashion designer. little sister. perfectionist. mama come here, approach,appear, daddy, i'm alone, 'cause this house doesn't feel LIKE H O M E.
More often than not, Andrea felt like a child playing dress up in an adult world, trying to make sense of all the adult things that actually made no sense at all. It was different, being away from her family - where she was praised for her antics, where things were just given to her either for doing a good job or just because she wanted it, because she had to work for the things she wanted this time. As the music droned on behind her in Allied; something Andy would usually immerse herself in, she couldn’t help but repeat the few sentences of that idiot’s review in her latest pieces, where they had described her work as childish, unfinished... it seems the same could have been said for her relationships. “You take five steps forward, only to take ten more back,” she murmured more to herself than anyone else, as she nursed her drink, eyes critically surveying the people around her. “Do people even look in the mirror before they decide to step one foot out of the house? It’s like people don’t even care about what they look like anymore.”
“Oh my god.” Eden watches as her sister in law’s drink is stolen, a small part of her was entertained but ultimately she felt for Andy even as she takes her own drink that was untouched. The blatant disrespect of it all. The thief leaves without paying much mind to either of them which somehow made it even more infuriating. “The people here are literally animals. I guess that explains why they’re so comfortable with all the rats and cockroaches.” It wasn’t that Eden hated New York, quite the opposite actually, it’s just that she’d never experience so many rude people in one place before. It was certainly an east coast trait. “And this is not the way to run a business- excuse me?” She turns her attention to the barista. “You better give her a bigger size for that. For free.”
If there was one thing that Andrea hated about New York, it was the lack of etiquette and decency in people; what were they, raised in a barn? Andy scoffed at her own thought, shaking her head at Eden’s comment, and she couldn’t help the way her upper lip curved in distaste. “I know, right? It’s like they were all raised in a barn. Raised without any common decency,” she complained loud enough for a few nearby customers to hear. Good. “At least the people in Washington would apologise, can’t say the same about this bloody place.” All in all though, as much as Andy complained, there was no other city she’d rather live in. It was away from Charlie, wherever the hell he was, away from her family, whom she loved, but they were suffocating. New York meant freedom. Turning her attention to the disgruntled barista briefly, giving them an award winning smile, “Extra cream too, please.” her tone however bore no niceties, instead teetering on the edge of incredibly-pissed-off-but-trying-not-to-lose-my-cool. If she had to spend another minute in this overly styled chicken coop, hands were going to start swinging. Grabbing her newly made drink, she turned to Eden with a warm smile; a genuine smile that only a few could get out of her. Namely Eden. Andy couldn’t help but look up to her; she was silently thankful that her brother had met her, though she’d never admit that to Gio. They never talked about feelings. “If only I stayed in law school, otherwise I would have sued all their asses.”
“do you like?” lina asks, grinning as she shows off the butterfly that had been painted across her face. she couldn’t help but revert back to a big kid when she saw a face painting stand, and today was no exception. she’d stopped at the allied on the way, downing a few drinks cheering on a few poets before she headed to fidelity, happy for change of atmosphere, “you should get one to match! i’ll even pay for it.”
andy couldn’t remember the last time she had her face painted - if she ever did. maybe one time in school, but she never really allowed herself the simple pleasures of just being a kid; no, her father’s job as a Senator was too important for the luxuries of painting your face. but she supposed now that she was an adult, andy could do whatever she wanted, granted it didn’t embarrass her father publicly. “it has been something that’s been weighing on my mind,” she reluctantly revealed with a wry smile. “i suppose there wouldn’t really be... much harm in it, right?”
“I love crafty shit,” Leo said cheerfully, the mini-pair of scissors he was using to trim the stems off of his little collection of flowers almost comically small in his hands. He looked again at the pretty blue baby’s breath, and carefully – so, so carefully – snipped another half an inch from the stem. “Imagine if I was good at it, though. That would be an insane.” With a smile, Leo looked up at the person sitting beside him, eyes conveying a vulnerable kind of helplessness that he swore wasn’t manipulative when he really genuine was helpless most of the time. “Can you wear mine when it’s done? I’d be so depressed wearing one I made for myself, but something tells me I’m not about to have people scrambling for it.”
Pride was something that Andrea thoroughly enjoyed, if anything, she saw it as a reason to celebrate herself, celebrating the fact that it was even possible to love more than one gender, because honestly, to Andrea, being straight sounded... tragic. Nevertheless, it was the one day a year where Andrea was actually a human being, with feelings, surrounding herself with other human beings who she assumed also had feelings, without being such a prissy bitch about it. “You are good at it, don’t measure the limits of your creativity to somebody else’s, that’s lame,” if she was surprised when the compliment slipped from her lips, she didn’t show it, instead made herself pretend to look busy on her phone, if Leo’d decided to ignore her; which Andrea couldn’t exactly blame. Leo was a genuine, good person who had real feelings, real feelings for everything - for her, for the shitty world that they lived in, and she had tried to ruin it out of her own selfishness. “If you don’t have any other better contenders to wear it, then sure. But I’m sure there’s a much better person out there, you know, one who doesn’t try to destroy souls for a living.” A small attempt at a joke.
he tilts his head as she speaks, some of what she’s saying getting lost on him. the business side of his brain was severely underdeveloped, or at least that’s what his father liked to say. nothing was really ever about making money to him, after all, he was probably among the cheapest tattoo artists in the state- and he was talented. “oh, i could never sell it,” he says with a shrug, “at least not for more than i bought it for. i can’t charge someone more than i paid for something new after i’ve used it.”
andy was awkward with small talk, but she tried, nodding intently as he spoke, eyes raising slightly. “Wow, you have a lot more integrity than most people I know... and that must say something about the people, I, well, know.” andy joked as she continued to fake browse, though truth be told, she had no idea what she was looking for. “You wouldn’t believe how many people try to sell me their cheapest fabric at least five times higher than what they originally bought it for. It’s a mad, mad world.”
When Andy called herself a humanitarian, Gio really did laugh – a scoff that was intended to be heard. What could he say? He was a snarky bitch. This was why he didn’t have many friends. But, Andy seemed to share the same self-awareness that Giovanni possessed, allowing them both to acknowledge their last name meant they’d been raised for the guillotine. Their older brother, Aldo, lacked this. Giovanni tucked away the conversation topic of him for later: surely if nothing else they could bond over making fun of their stuck up sibling? Gio almost looked forward to it. “How can you deserve thousand dollar shoes? Check your privilege.” His tone dripped with irony; one of Gio’s favourite bad jokes was being fake-woke.
But. Being a shit wasn’t what this was about. Although Gio was skilled at making most things about being a shit. Not now. The mention of quote, unquote, juicy stuff threw Giovanni back to the hideous cocktail party his wife had dragged him along to. Some guy he and Andy’d gone to school with, Martin, had practically wagged his tail at Gio when he arrived, which was a mystery since Gio was objectively unlikeable – until it had turned out Martin had only dragged Giovanni into a conversation to break the news of “the saddest wedding I’ve seen since Debby Ryan wore converse with that dress”.
If his sister being left at the altar could count as a wedding.
Giovanni looked down at his coffee cup, swirling it gently for something to do, losing his nerve now that their interaction was about to be… this. “Spare me the family newsletter. I can’t fucking read,” He said, tip toeing around the subject. “But I did hear some shit on the street.” After a pause, “When were you gonna tell me you were getting married?”
Andrea blinked at him a few times as she sipped her iced coffee, savouring the taste. She couldn’t really say that she deserved expensive shoes considering she’d been quite a spoilt brat growing up - Andy would even admit to that, but when shitty things happened to her, splurging money on herself was a temporary fix. At least it made her feel a little better until she saw the next best thing to buy. “The same way I guess you could say you deserved all those drugs and hookers, or whatever you want to call them. New best friends?” She said as innocently as she could, cocking her head to the side.
She leaned back in hear seat, fingers daintily tracing the glass cup, wondering if now was the time to spill all her woes to Gio; or if the chapter should just remain shut until her dying breath. Yeah, maybe she’d tell him when she was on her death bed, or maybe she’d get their mother to tell him - if she could even get in contact with him, that was. Pursing her lips as all those thoughts raced through her mind, Andy almost didn’t hear him. Almost.
Immediately her mouth went dry, Andy opened her mouth to speak, to say anything, instead, silence came out. She couldn’t speak. There goes waiting until the day she died; silently cursing her brother’s existence for taking away that option as she took a rather huge gulp of her coffee. “There should,” she started, hiccuping after a moment, “really be vodka in coffee, y’know?” Andy spoke lamely, her cheeks burning up at the sheer absurdity of what she was about to tell Giovanni.
“I - - well, you weren’t exactly around. It’s not like I could have called you on the phone, out of the blue, after not speaking to you for - - how long? Would you have even picked up the phone, Giovanni?” She hated how sharp her tone came out, but she continued. “Besides, do you see a ring on my finger?” she held her hand up for him to inspect, giving him a sour look. “I obviously didn’t get married, did I? It’s just... fucking embarrassing. Everyone sitting there, watching, waiting. Watching as he never showed up. Waiting, as his sorry excuse for a best man finally mustered up enough guts to tell me he wasn’t coming.”
“what do you think?” ezra asks the person beside him in the record shop, holding up a vinyl copy of the mamma mia: here we go again soundtrack, “think it’s worth the thirty bucks? it’s my most played on spotify, but like- you think it’s gonna sound any better?”
andy loved to come in the record shop on her breaks, or whenever she had spare time really. not so much as to browse, but to clear her head and feel in control again. her fingers delicately swept past the records, as if she was in search for something - no, idle fingers needed something to fiddle with - when she heard a voice next to her, and she turned slightly, to speak. “in an age where technology will most likely one day rule over everything we know and love, music included, i bet that record would be sorely looked for,” she mused quietly, a small smile on her face, “why not buy it now for a mere thirty dollars, for a potential profit in the future?”
Andy was an absolute fucking nightmare. To most people, this trait might have been off putting. Under normal circumstances, to Giovanni, this was a virtue. Gio himself was an absolute fucking nightmare, after all. The difference between himself and his sister, as far as he could tell, was that he actually meant to come across that way. Andy was just entitled. Still, Eden had convinced him to get a coffee with his sister, and if he was being honest with himself? He’d wanted to do this for a while, too. Sure, they’d never gotten along, and Gio had indeed asked himself, why start now?
He hadn’t figured out the answer to that yet, actually. But he was still here. Reclined against the back of a booth seat in the little coffee shop, breathing through the urge to smile as his sister went postal on a minimum wage employee. “Calm down. They were probably homeless, or something.” He said, taking a sip of his own – notably unstolen – coffee. “Your fucking shoes probably cost more than their life. Have some shame.”
If you had told Andy a few years ago that she’d be sitting in a coffee shop having a drink with her brother, Gio, she would have laughed right in your face. Now though, as she turned her head towards him to study him slightly, noticing how he had changed over the years - there was something more free about him, that, believe it or not, made Andy a little jealous to see. She still didn’t really know why Gio wanted to go out for coffee, after all, why now? What had happened in his life that made him want to reach out and reconnect with his little sister? Because quite frankly, Andy didn’t think that Giovanni really cared. After all, his actions spoke louder than any of the words he’d ever said to her. No, his silence had said so much more.
At his quip, Andy threw him a look and fought back the urge to let out a small laugh, even then, the smallest of smiles managed to permanently stick. “Please, are you trying to appeal to the secret humanitarian in me?” she joked, leaning back in her seat. Finally, her new coffee had arrived and she sipped it eagerly like a little kid on christmas with a hot chocolate, except it was cold and had a mildly bitter taste to it. Exactly how Andy loved it. “I’ll have you know, they definitely did. Probably cost more than his whole family’s life. But hey, who said I can’t treat myself? I deserve it.” She cut him a look, trying to gauge whether he knew anything about her life since he had left, she wasn’t sure what to say and what not to say. “So, what’s up buttercup? Do you finally want to resubscribe to the family newsletter? Can’t say I’m not surprised; you’re missing out on some incredibly juicy stuff.”
“I’m - - hey, that was my coffee -- heeeey,” Andy couldn’t help but whine and stomp her foot to the customer that had pretty much stolen her extra large caramel latte, iced with two sugars and disappeared out the door without a glance back, leaving Andy with an oversized pout on her lips. Signalling to the barista, she let out an annoyed huff at the idea of having to wait an extra five minutes. “Completely ridiculous. It’s like some people don’t have any decent social etiquette around here anymore! You can’t just steal another person’s coffee? It’s - it’s not a dictatorship!” But still, Andy waited, with her hands crossed, while muttering about the ‘nerve of some fucking people’ underneath her breath.
◊ ♫ ◊— look what the cat dragged in! that’s ANDREA DE LUCA and SHE is an around 24-year-old REGULAR to the store, but they’ve been in the neighborhood for 1 YEAR & EIGHT MONTHS. I think they are a FASHION DESIGNER and I overheard them listening to UNSTEADY by X AMBASSADORS, and, I dunno man, it seemed pretty fitting. Like, call me shallow but I look at them and think of SOFIA CARSON and FEELING ALONE IN A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE, FALTERED SMILES BEHIND DESIGNER GLASSES, and THE SOUND OF HEELS AGAINST MARBLE FLOORS.
tw: drug abuse mention
hi !! my name is courtney and this is my human elite trash bag andrea !! she is gio’s little sister (she was adopted but that’s another story hey) and she will ! judge you on what kind of clothes you are wearing :/ she’s that :// kind of person :/
name: andrea eleanora de luca
nickname(s): the only person who would call her andrea is her mother, and only when she’s in trouble, otherwise it’s just andy ://
sexuality: bisexual queen
family: bart & samantha de luca (parents), aldo de luca (brother, older), giovanni de luca (brother, older) & beckett liao (nephew, younger)
she was only a few days old !! when her birth parents died,,,, supposedly,,,, and the de luca’s adopted her, probably for some pr stunt :/ or genuine kindness out of their hearts :/ but nevertheless, a spoiled life with a silver spoon in her mouth was what andrea grew up to knew, with her big brown eyes and adorable smile, it meant she was able to get away with more than what her brothers could ://
even from a young age, andrea was always so headstrong and competitive, she got what she wanted and it didn’t matter how she got it. in primary school she was always picked first in sports, she was ahead in her class, she was a mini regina george without everybody fanning over her rip andy’s rights ://
with the de luca’s being nothing more than successful, it drove andrea’s need to be better than everybody around her :// sorry if you went to school with her :// with her father being a senator, andy knew she had to at least live a pristine life, keeping things behind closed doors - so she learned, she studied hard and focused on school, aced every test, just to get her father’s attention. she kept her addiction to adhd medication a secret, her string of broken hearts and lipstick stains in the closet; all with a flutter of her eyelashes and a pretty smile.
fitting right into the de luca’s world of politics and high society, andrea got accepted into law school and it was there that her drug addiction came to a head; finally finding the confidence to confide in her mother who quietly sent her to rehab for a few months before college started on the condition that if she relapsed, she would be sent back home indefinitely. to be honest, andrea would have rather been locked away in a remote island than to go home.
she had a taste of freedom and she wanted more. andrea completed her stint at rehab and now that she was out of the house and away from the crushing pressure of being senator de luca’s daughter it was finally time to thrive and find out who andy really was. and she... really did not want to be a law student...... yikes. but still ! andy stuck it out because she ! was not going to be the second child to disappoint their parents !! when she was around 21 she met who she thought was the love :/ of her life :/ can i call double yikes??? im calling it
charlie was everything andrea thought love to be. he was charming, funny, smooth - awkward at the best times; andrea couldn’t help but love him completely. their love was a whirlwind of emotions - they talked about everything from how many kids, to what pets they wanted, talking about saving for an apartment after law school.... y’all they even got engaged :(((
planning a wedding while ??? still going to law school while deciding if you even still wanted to be a lawyer was just stress on stress .... for charlie apparently; on the day of what was supposed to be Andrea’s best day was probably one of the worst, because she was left at the alter by the person who she thought she was plannign to spend the rest of her life with ! standing there staring at an empty spot where her fiance was supposed to be with her entire family ? and high society friends ? staring at her ... embarrassing
shortly after, andy dropped out of law school and moved away. and she kept moving
she settled into new york, she went back to school eventually and worked on a fashion degree & she’s now (soon to be) starting her own fashion line ??? if she gets her shit in line !! we love a girl who has goals
i want to say gio and andy were close as kids but sudhejfkds lets be real andy was a spoiled kid who really only mellowed out in her late teens and by then it was prob too late !!! she lowkey misses him and wished she had someone to turn to ://
personality !!
she can be in a room full of people and still feel alone, she second guesses herself & who she is but ! she is still from a prestigious family so andy is outwardly elegant, poised, always with a smile on her face. she can be easily angered but since rehab she’s worked on letting go of a lot of shit that has the potential to ruin her. she knows her way around politics and a debate, though with her competitive streak comes her need for other medications she’s not prescribed so she tends to stay away from that.
in saying that though ! andy can also be manipulative to get what she wants, she’s blunt & can be overly sarcastic and critical of herself & others. especially if you have no dress sense.
in the last year or so she’s def more vulnerable and keeps more to herself, she used to revel in the spotlight but now she just kind of ? shies away from it from the last time she got bad publicity for being left at the altar :/
wanted connections !!
best friends - someone who knows allllll of this mess and can still !! put up with her shit would be !! amazing. i’m talking best friends who can potentially live together in an apartment doing !! best friend things !! g vie me
child hood friends - someone from andy’s childhood who probably ran in the same social circle as her. their families would be friends ?? u know. doctor fams, lawyer fams, ... rich fams. they don’t necessarily have to be friends now but !! someone who knew what andrea used to be like would be nice
enemies - hell fuckin yeah. someone andrea just cant stand, y’know, it can be completely one-sided on andy’s part & your characters just caught in the crossfire, or it could go both ways. idk maybe they both went to school together skdkg f
exes: since andy was a teenager & after she got left at the alter, she left a string of broken hearts wherever she went. i’m feeling if this was after that whole thing, bc andrea’s kind of... hating the idea of love, she could have rlly done a number on your character etc.
