[emmaridley]

NAME: Emma Elizabeth Ridley AGE: 34 BIRTHDATE: December 27, 1989 STAR SIGN: ☼ Capricorn ☾ Capricorn ⬆ Aries HOMETOWN: Asbury Park, NJ NEIGHBORHOOD: Pine Street JOB: Lawyer

her mom and dad met as young adults in nyc and sparked a mutually beneficial relationship with one another

her mom was a broke waitress was a broke waitress who had dreams of becoming a famous broadway actress in the same vain as ethel merman or patti lupone, while her dad was a college student studying finance

but oh uh the condom broke and emma's mom was unexpectedly pregnant with her

her dad was aware of the pregnancy but continued to pursue his own career ambitions, figuring it would be best to become financially stable and make up for lost time later down the line

he was still a moderate presence in her life, mostly in the form of phone calls, birthday cards with guilt money, and spending every summer vacation together

her mom moved back in with her parents in new jersey before giving birth, essentially giving up on her own dreams for the sake of her child

watching her mom struggle to make bill payments and work her ass off to keep a roof over their heads only made emma work twice as hard by throwing herself into her academics and extracurricular activities, anything to get her into college

when it was time for high school, her parents mutually decided that it would be best that she live with her dad, step-mom, and half-sister out in california where she would have better access to resources that would help her get into a prestigious college

it sucked leaving all her friends and her mom behind, but she still kept in touch via aol instant messenger and myspace (truly showing my age with this one) and made sure to visit every summer with all the other tourists that invaded the boardwalk

while it was a big change, and incredibly awkward at first, it allowed her to learn how to adapt

she half-expected it to be a cliché cinderella story, but she was surprised by how kind and welcoming her step-mom was while also being a stark contrast from her people-pleasing mother

she eventually went to stanford for undergrad and moved back east to attend columbia for law school

the beginning of her career was spent climbing the ladder of corporate law in nyc, thinking she wanted to one day become a partner, but it was ultimately unfulfilling and more of an old boys network

she had several failed relationships, including a failed engagement, mostly due to the fact that her work always came first

she moved back to asbury park about 2 years ago to take care of her mom after she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, got licensed to practice law in the state of new jersey, and has been here ever since

but she's made the change from corporate law to being a public defender, which was laughable to many of her former colleagues

she loves to bake when she's stressed, so don't be too surprised if she shows up to your place unannounced with a plate of cookies

her closest companion is her cat ruth bader ginsburg

PERSONALITY: + intelligent, independent, confident, practical - impatient, tactless, abrasive, perfectionist

[alex-perry]

"Not weird at all," Alex shook his head, chuckling lightly. "Who hasn't fake-chatted with a random guy at a bar to avoid someone?" He shrugged casually as if this was just a regular afternoon for him. Of course, it wasn't. When you had the social finesse of a mealworm, people didn't necessarily rush to pick you as their fake boyfriend. "Who are we avoiding here?" he stage-whispered, leaning in, all curious.

Cue an awkward half-smile. "Because, if we are going to do this right, I need a solid backstory."

[emmaridley]

Because she couldn't exit the bar without passing the person she was avoiding, Emma had approached the safest looking option in the bar. While he did look like some of the guys she had dated in the city, he didn't exude nearly as much confidence. Her assumption was that he might have been gay, so all the more reason to approach him. After an exhausting day of work, she didn't want to risk getting hit on.

She knew that by starting off the conversation in such an odd way, there was bound to be a few questions. "Do you see that guy over there? The one in cargo shorts." Emma jerked her head in the other direction. Honestly, his taste in clothing should have been an immediate red flag. "He asked me out last time I was in here, but afterwards I may have checked to see if he had a record. Not like a complete background check; I'm not that insane. But yeah, safe to there was not a second date."

[waitingrocm-deactivated20240926]

His eyebrows lift as he processes her words; it’s not a typical order he receives behind the bar, but he’s willing to comply for her sake. He rests his elbows on the bar top, leaning in closer to appear more engaged in their 'conversation.' "So," he begins, "are you going to fill me in on the backstory or what?" @emmaridley

[emmaridley]

She could finally breathe a sigh of relief now that she had a momentary distraction. Going to the bar alone was not typical for her, so it only made sense that something would go wrong. But her day had been bad enough, and she didn't want to make it worse. "The same reason any woman chooses to avoid someone in a bar," she answered, choosing to remain a bit more cryptic. "Just trying to avoid an awkward conversation." A lot of good that did since now she was in this position. "Do you have any drink recommendations?"

[roscgold]

Without skipping a beat, she smiled and replied, "Of course. I'm Lavender by the way. If you have tea on the person you're avoiding, do tell. I love drama that isn't mine."

[emmaridley]

"Emma," she quickly introduced herself. "It's really not anything exciting. There's a guy over there that I was supposed to go out with, but then I checked to see if he had a criminal record." She subtly gestured in the direction of the person she was avoiding, trying not to draw any attention to herself by being too obvious. "Needless to say, we didn't end up going on that date."

[felipe-feliz-deactivated2024111]

"Damn. I've been there before. On both sides, avoiding and avoided. But the latter was a misunderstanding. Have you tried the fried pickles?"

[emmaridley]

"What kind of misunderstanding?" Emma asked, happy to have a distraction. "Uh, I can't say that I have. Are they any good? I feel like bar food is always a hit or miss."

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[emmaridley]

who: anyone

where: wonder bar

"Hey, this is going to sound really weird, but could you pretend to be having a conversation with me? And I know I'm essentially starting a strange conversation by opening with that. I'm just trying to avoid someone."

[hadleymorganrp]

Where: Sunset Diner, around 2am

Who: Open to everyone

An emergency call had pulled her out of the comforts of home at 10pm and into the vet clinic. It hadn't ended well, and every year that Hadley did this job, it never weighed less on her heart when she had to tell an owner that their pet was gone. Her mind was left too busy to even consider going back home and trying to sleep, and so she'd wound up at the diner two cups of black coffee deep into trying to shake off the evening. At this hour it was just her and one other patron up at the counter. "You know what's weird? I like my daytime coffee sweet as fuck, all the sugar and the flavoring, pale as hell. But there's something about coffee after midnight that just calls for strong and dark."

[emmaridley]

With a small stack of paperwork and a half-eaten basket of fries sitting in front of her, Emma flagged down the lone waitress for a refill of her coffee. Working on very little sleep was only one of the many bad habits that she had picked up in college, but there was something strangely peaceful about being up in the middle of the night. It was also the only time she felt she could get any work done. "That is weird," she agreed without missing a beat. "But I guess it's also pretty weird that I don't even like coffee, yet here I am on my second cup."

[sntrose-deactivated20230703]

Rebecca Rittenhouse in Good on Paper (2021)