𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐎 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐀 — [✧🔮 tender alchemy 🔮✧]
private, original muse — days shaped by lessons in kindness, small victories, and careful structure. wisdom wrapped in warmth, crystals in her bag like tiny anchors. authored + adored by Willa (21+ • she/her/hers • est) set in WindsorBay.
𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐎 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐀 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒
STATS:
FULL NAME: Cleo Serena James
NICKNAME(S): not applicable
BIRTHDAY: November 27, 1997
AGE: twenty7.
GENDER: cis woman
SEXUALITY: pansexual
ZODIAC: Sagittarius sun • Pisces moon • Scorpio rising
easily lost in daydreams, sometimes people think her head is up in the clouds too much.
laughs when stressed, dislikes that fact about herself.
loves the night air and exploring at night time, even if people worry about her. it's calming for her but she always makes sure that she has some sort of defensive measure on her.
enjoys looking at old photographs and thinking about what might be going on in those pictures of people she doesn't know. Often finds these pictures in vintage shops or thrift shops.
gets far too attached to fictional characters in the books she reads and shows she watches.
has favorite pens, and various supplies that she must have in her classroom.
changes how her room is decorated every single year, this year it's decorated as "Under the Sea Adventure" with an exploration station for tactile play with water, magnets, etc.
is someone who gets embarrassed very easily, also someone who gets second-hand embarrassment.
always wants to decorate something, which means the holiday season starting with Halloween is her favorite time of year as she can continually decorate her apartment.
watches documentary and docuseries for fun on almost everything.
sleeps on her stomach which leads to neck and shoulder pain far more often for only being twenty seven years old, but physically cannot fall asleep any other way.
reads with background music or the television on, secondary sound is needed.
loves big, oversized scarves and wears them at least 3/4ths of the year.
always has gum with her but has to hide it because she didn't know how obsessed pre-school aged children could be with it.
hates glitter but buys it for arts and crafts in the classroom.
prefers bubble baths to showers, she even takes her iPad in and sets it up on the counter and relaxes in the tub until the water goes cold.
will bug anyone she's close with, if a carnival is in town, to go with her and play endless carnival games.
also, is incredibly competitive with any kind of game night.
uses too many emojis when text messaging and isn't mad about it.
overthinks compliments, to a point it stresses her out.
loves matching pajamas and has multiple sets, several she's gotten for her birthday or christmas.
gets emotional when someone remembers small things about them.
always forgets to charge their phone at night which leads to needing to charge it while she's in the classroom.
goes overboard on presentations that she needs to give.
gets distracted by everything, but that could be because she was diagnosed five years ago with ADHD.
uses YouTube to learn new skills, crafts, and ideas for projects for her pre-k students.
&. — open starter: last call, evening-night, with anyone! @windsorbaystarters
"oh no," the brunette knew the second the taste hit her tongue that she'd accidentally picked up the wrong drink. it was a moment too late when her green eyes landed on the glass that was still on the bar and not in her hand, a drink that looked very much like the one she'd ordered. "umm, so, this is yours i'm guessing," romi said to the person beside her that was looking at her like the greedy thief she was.
still in recovery mode her hand rose to wipe at her mouth while her brain scrambled to say something. romi just couldn't get past the bad taste still lingering. "god that's awful," she muttered quietly, then added more clearly once she set theirs down, "i'll buy you a new drink for sure but, uhh, what is that?"
It had been a long few days — no, weeks, for the woman. As much as she loved her job, working with pre-school aged children had its challenges, especially around the holiday season. Even some kids as young as three were so wrapped up in the holidays that it was causing craziness. Everyone was talking about what their elves were getting up to around their homes, the ones that didn't have the elves or celebrated other than Christmas were confused that had Cleo coming up with all kind of weird stories. Meaning she was tired and very much looking forward to her drink that was coming towards her until someone else grabbed it. It was like watching in slow motion the one glorious thing suddenly disappear.
Watching the woman in front of her she raised her brows showing the shock before furrowing them. Maybe it was working with children her ability to hear whispering, mumbling, and all other forms was practically her super power. "You're either not a fan of vodka or cranberry." Cleo said leaning against the bar, twisting slightly on the stool. "It's a cosmo, extra lime." Cleo wasn't upset, she knew that a lot of drinks were an acquired taste.
LENGTH OF TIME IN WINDSOR BAY: Moved to Windsor Bay in 2024
HOUSING:Downtown
OCCUPATION: Enchanted Forest Pre-K, part time employee at Crystal Cottage
THE INTERVIEW.
If you could recommend one hidden gem around town everyone should try, what is it? What makes it so special?
"I'm someone that really enjoys getting to feel like a kid sometimes. Mean I work with kids every single day and seeing the joy from the simple things? So, I've got to say Player Two Arcade. Pretty much a champ at Frogger and the claw machines. I love getting to try my hand at those mystery ones? You don't know what you're going to get, actually won a Labubu that way that the kids at the pre-k constantly try and steal!"
What’s your family like? Are you still close, or have you blocked all their numbers?
"My parents are divorced and it wasn't the smoothest transition for a long time. They're much more amicable now, think because we're all grown up and can't really be used as pawns against either of them. I'm closer with my mom than my dad, but we've got a decent relationship. Dad is back in South Carolina and my mom now lives with her boyfriend in Ohio. My siblings and I are pretty close but like anything as we get older things change but we always make time for each other. We have a joint facetime call every other week."
Do you have any regrets? What are they?
"Trying really hard to live the idea of no regrets because everything good and bad teaches us a less. Part of me regrets not knowing fully what I want to do with my life, thought by my mid-twenties I would know at least a little more than I do, so I regret not really thinking about it more but think that just means I'll get to figure it out as I go. Kinda like an adventure. That's what I'm hoping for, at least.
@windsorbaystarters (2/3)
location: the dollar pantry
Leyla wove through the narrow aisles of The Dollar Pantry, her tote bag already half-filled with snacks and a few essentials she couldn’t resist picking up. The fluorescent lights buzzed faintly overhead, illuminating the colorful chaos of candy, chips, and bargain bins. She paused at the weekly snack special, tilting her head as she studied the selection. "Some things never change," she murmured to herself, pulling a bag of something she hadn’t tried before into her tote. Her fingers lingered on the edge of the shelf, tracing the labels almost absentmindedly, cataloging flavors and prices like some sort of secret inventory.
A sudden shuffle of footsteps made her glance up. A figure appeared around the corner, scanning the shelves just as intently. Leyla’s eyes flicked over them, curiosity sparking. She shifted her tote to one shoulder and offered a faint, polite nod. "Looking for anything in particular or just browsing the chaos like the rest of us?"
Frequenting the Dollar Pantry was nothing out of the ordinary for Cleo, she was a young woman working two jobs, attempting to make ends meet, and trying to provide the best time for her little class of pre-schoolers. Whilst she wasn't someone who taught at the local elementary school or such, she still put a lot of time into decorations for the classroom, making sure to have little prizes for students on their birthdays (or half birthdays for those pesky summer ones!), snacks, and just all around things for them to craft, play with, and enjoy. Going above and beyond was something Cleo enjoyed and brought so much enjoyment that somedays she truly thought she could burst. Still, those things came with a cost, and she didn't have an unlimited budget to be spending on all different apps, sites, etc as much as she would have wished.
Today's goal? Attempt to find some extra special snacks for her own desk for when those times got a little more trying than usual — who didn't deserve an extra special treat when the littlest kids were tuckered out and down for a nap. The expanse of selection never ceased to amaze her, the amount of chips, candies, and random snacking choices at her fingertips tucked right here at The Dollar Pantry. Why people snubbed their nose up at it so much baffled her brain in ways she chose to not even attempt to comprehend. As far as she was concerned it was their loss and more for herself.
Making a mental note to stop in the crafting aisle after she made her selections just to pick up a few extra supplies she was needing, her warm brown orbs scanned the first few rows, selecting a package of chocolate wafer cookies from another country and tucking into her basket that hung on the crook of her arm. "Browsing mostly, I do know I have to stalk out the craft aisle after this but right now I'm picking my survive till Thanksgiving during nap time snacks."
It feels like yesterday that I was putting up all my spooky decorations around the youth area in the library. And now we're suddenly ten days away from Thanksgiving and I'm stringing up Christmas lights both at the library and in my own home. Also wondering what kind of dessert to bring to the family Thanksgiving this year. Should I go with the classic pumpkin pie or mix it up with something else like cheesecake or another kind of pie? @windsorbaystarters
I, personally, am grateful to be putting up the Halloween decorations but thankfully we're surrounded by handprint turkeys and all things colored red, orange, and yellow at the Pre-K, and haven't gotten to all things Christmas. Of course that is next and will be happening in a blink but I'm going to enjoy not being decked out in all things festive at this moment. Pumpkin cheesecake? Personally, I'm going to get myself a small bundt cake covered in cream cheese frosting to be my Thanksgiving dessert.
