βοΈ β [ victoria pedretti, 26, woman, she/her ] β Hey, is that ALICE OWENS listening to LET DOWN by RADIOHEAD? Theyβre known around town as THE SPARROW, because theyβre KIND and OPTIMISTIC, but ever since the Departure, theyβve become more INSECURE and WITHDRAWN. Theyβve lived in Redford for ONE YEAR and work at THE REDFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY as a CLERK. If you need them, you can find them in BIRCHWOOD APARTMENTS. β ( ooc - fern, 27, they/them, pst )
full name: alice elizabeth owens.
date of birth: jan. 30th, 1999.
age: 26 years old.
place of birth: san francisco, ca.
pronouns: she/her.
orientation: bisexual.
occupation: library clerk at the redford public library.
faceclaim: victoria pedretti (namely in the haunting of bly manor).
height: 5'6".
style: stereotypical librarian / school teacher; cardigans and button downs, graphic t-shirts from museums or bookshops, not afraid of color or patterns. prefers more "masculine" clothes - pants over skirts or dresses, but occasionally indulges in them. dresses for comfort; won't wear fabric that's too scratchy, or shoes that hurt, even if it's fashionable and she likes it. lots of knitwear, oversized sweaters and jeans atop well-worn sneakers.
Even before nearly half of the population of the world disappeared, Alice had felt alone. It wasn't what her mother had always implied, that she viewed herself as superior to others - on the contrary, Alice had always been deeply conscious of her own averageness.
(tw: vague references to parental abuse and neglect)
It wasn't so much that her parents pressured her to be great, in any fashion. The only child to a police officer mother and a firefighter father, the major emphasis they imparted on their child was the importance of hard work. It was their commitment to their jobs that kept them away for long hours, weeks at a time for her father, leaving a below-ten year old to take care of the household and herself. Of course, her mother was around more reliably... but 'reliable' itself she was not.
Alice and her mother always harbored a strained relationship. Her mother was moody, temperamental, and seemed to vent her frustrations at life in general on her. Alice's father, by contrast, was a more positive and stable presence, though often absent and - perhaps even worse - tolerant of her mother's treatment of her.
(end of tw)
Unfortunately for the two of them, Alice applied her familial lessons of work ethic to learning, rather than following in their footsteps and getting a 'reputable blue collar job'. Though perhaps odd to say that a family graced with a child eager to learn did not support her endeavor for higher education, Alice had grown up in an environment where she was not understood by her parents and largely left to her own devices.
As she grew, Alice struggled to make friends. Acquaintances came easy, but no one who knew when her birthday was or became excited to celebrate the day. She drifted through life a ghost. Even the promise of escaping to college after reaching adulthood, going to Berkeley and leaving her hometown of San Francisco, left her bereft of substantial connections save for the very parents she had left behind.
By summer 2024, Alice had finished her masters in library science. No one attended her graduation. Still, she moved back in with her parents in San Francisco while she searched for jobs.
On October 3rd, 2024, her parents did not come home when expected. Granted, with all the reports of missing people, perhaps they were out searching.
They never came back. 43% of the population had vanished - easier odds than a coinflip - and still both of her parents were among the vanished.
Still, life moved on relentlessly. Even as the economy struggled, Alice pocketed her grief, tucked it into a small corner of her mind, and found a decent job offer. A small town in Redford, Oregon, a bit farther than she's ever gone before (nor is it even a full-fledged librarian position, but that of a clerk), but promising. A new start, among the wreckage of life as known.
A little under a year later, and Redford's been made her home.
romaincrisis
turnnoffyourmind
areudirty