(GEMMA CHAN, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER) Oh, is that ADELINE ZHAO? I heard the FORTY year old is CONFIDENT. But donβt let that pretty face fool you, they are also MANIPULATIVE. Makes sense seeing how they are a MONEY CLEANER in the SOCIETY gang. (mel, 24, any, est)
TRIGGER WARNING: alcoholism, parental death, implied emotional abuse, pregnancy
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name: adeline leighton zhao nicknames/alias: absolutely none
faceclaim: gemma chan
age: forty gender: cisfemale sexuality: bisexual date/place of birth: january 17th / london, england currently: staten island, new york occupation: socialite money cleaner for the society
positive traits: confident, sophisticated, well-spoken negative traits: manipulative, secretive, self-indulgent astrological sign: capricorn archetype: the heiress
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january 17th, 1982
you most certainly come from money, money perhaps that's as old as time. your father and your grandfather before him knew a similar life -- that's as far back as your memory serves you. all you remember was realizing very quickly that your father was someone important. he shook hands with investors, smiled at them in a way he never smiled at you. in fact, it became very clear that he believed you were supposed to be born a boy. tradition never seems to escape the grassroots of society, does it? your mother was not much better. it was as if your very existence had started a war amidst an already crumbling marriage. your mother felt a need to compete with you, somehow believing you were a drain on his attention. meanwhile, your father had every intention of making you an heir, even if you were the heir he never wanted.
boarding school in paris shortly before you turned twelve was your saving grace. you speak to your parents very little, and you begin to come alive. you foster a desperate need for constant independence very early in your life, choosing very quickly to never settle. you believe this is why you're soon ordered to return home for christmas break. you've developed standards, a mouth on you.
what you come home to, however, is perhaps the last thing you had expected. your father was leaving your mother, and your mother would recieve full custody. he never wanted you. even if you already knew that, this doesn't stop the sting. after all those years of preparing you, you thought he'd at least take the time to see it through. you spend the next few months searching for the broken final straw, and your grades begin to tank because of it. you knew you were only able to finish out the year before returning home -- but the spiral you find yourself falling down makes damn sure you don't remember those months fondly.
summer 1997
your mother blames you for everything. and you, at fifteen, had become quite the volatile teenager. well, at least that was what she would tell you -- if anyone ever bothered to ask. or, if she ever made the effort to remove her lips from the liqour bottle that she found solace in. she would let people know regardless. how horrible you were to your own flesh and blood. ever since you came along, her marriage was over. you follow your father's life through pictures, quickly noticing how easy it was for him to exchange your mother for a shiny, younger model. your mother hadn't even put ink to paper yet, ending their marriage. for a second, you find it in yourself to feel bad for her. that is, until she begins taking it out on you again.
you finish high school by the skin of your teeth -- running on fumes. alongside your studies, you pick up shifts at the local diner to save money -- your own money. your father sends his mandated check, but you want something for yourself.
your trust becomes available to you by the time you turn eighteen. even if you hadn't spoken many words to your father -- you thanked him in your mind. and while you've made something of yourself, found a way out in your acceptance to colombia university -- your mother has been left with nothing. while you once thought she had sucked you dry of your humanity, you can't help but feel bad for her. and then you remember the venom she had spit at you, the emotional warfare she had used you as the battering ram for without a thought of stopping. she was never your mother.
if she can thrive on her hatred of you for this long, she'll never starve.
late august, 2000
your first steps are taken onto columbia's campus. seconds later -- you meet the man who will later become your ex-husband for the very first time, michael tracy. it's a whirlwind romance, but a passionate one. even if you've taught yourself to be respectful, certainly built by years of etiquette training, you are far from a small personality. he knows that, and he cannot get enough of you. things begin to change, however, when you find your back on the cold bathroom tile -- staring at a pregnancy test. you were only twenty years old.
while you know you're going to bring this child into the world, you know you can't bring yourself to finish your degree. and so, you drop out of colombia. not like either of your parents would even notice. your father has left you enough money to get by a thousand times over anyway. you and your baby will be fine. and yet, something tells you that you can't let michael in on that secret. it's the independence clawing at you again. you always need to keep one foot out the door, some tether to your sense of self.
something in him seems like he enjoys feeling like you depend on him. while you kept your secrets close to your chest -- you're well aware that he's made the wrong friends. he was like a moth drawn to a flame, when it came to danger. you had hoped it would change when you brought your daughter into the world, diana olivine tracy, but it doesn't. he soon draws you in too.
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2007
divorce is easy. you are glad you always trust your instincts, and vow never to need someone again. you get full custody of your daughter, but vow to be anything like your mother. she died the year prior, but made no effort to ask how or go to the funeral. why did she deserve your presence, when yours was always some kind of disgrace? while you could afford a manhattan lifestyle, you want your daughter to know some semblance of normalcy. go to public school. make meaningful friends. make something of herself without thinking she could fall back on her family name.
perhaps what draws you to the society, is that they don't ask questions. you prove your skill, and soon find yourself signing on the dotted line. you don't want your daughter to have to watch your back, if someone else can.
in the past few weeks, since the emergance of ghosts that just can't seem to stay dead, you couldn't be happier that she's made it to college. far the fuck away from new york.
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while she's made a significant amount to scrub most of the old money lifestyle from her life -- it shows in her sense of style. she can't help it that she likes nice things!
been a member of the society since she was twenty six years old. thus, she has seen many a change in the ranks. she'll soon be approaching fifteen years of loyalty.
has an intellectual iq of 150. she always crosses her i's, dots her t's, and leaves not a single stone unturned.
while she makes a clear point of residing in staten island, she's very familiar with the circles that the rich find themselves in. thus, she's likely crossed paths with many a serpent over the years.
MORE TO COME.
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