Florence was raised by her paternal grandfather, William Cassidy. Belle Cassidy passed away just hours after Florence was delivered when a hemorrhage took the doctors by surprise. Unable to take the loss of the love of his life, Troy Cassidy turned to drugs and alcohol. Shortly before her second birthday, he was driving home and fell asleep at the wheel while under the influence and veered into the barricade on the highway, flipping his car multiple times. The accident ended his life.
William was unsure of taking in the child-- he had planned to move away from the area and bask in his loneliness after his failed second marriage. After some deliberation and no other family members standing up, he allowed the girl into his home. What Will hadn’t expected was them to be so alike.
Many young girls would shy away from his hunting and fishing expertise and stories, but Florence was enamored by them, particularly the angling awards he had hidden away in the shed. His second wife, Debra, hadn’t wanted them around the house to “collect dust”; he had never put them back into the house, even after she left. Florence found them as a child and returned them to their rightful place on the shelves in their small home. When William saw the new decor, he raised his eyebrow at her. She challenged him back by raising hers in response. No other conversation was needed-- the trophies stayed, and he decided to teach her all he knew about fishing. It was during these outings that the two of them truly bonded. Although Will was a soft-spoken man and generally a loner, he found he enjoyed the girls company. She brought out his goofy side, and he inspired within her a love and respect for the outdoors. Florence grew up well-rounded, enjoying their weekly trips to Brindleton Bay (their favorite fishing spot.)
Aspiring to be a veterinarian, she planned to move out to a small apartment in Brindleton Bay to pursue an apprenticeship with their local animal hospital. Right before she was scheduled to leave, however, her grandfather’s health started declining. She scrapped her plans much to his dismay.
“You gave up your plans to care for me-- now it’s my turn to return the favor,” she had reasoned with him, and he knew there was no use arguing with her--she had inherited her father’s fiery spirit.
After his passing, Florence sold their small home to pay for health care costs and funeral arrangements, keeping only his box of trophies and his favorite fishing lure, which she crafted into a bracelet. Since then, she can be found bouncing around the camping area she calls home, Granite Falls. Never truly settling down, she made a home in her tent as she found peace with her guardian’s passing in her own way-- by being close to nature. Florence found she could gain money by participating in fishing contests and selling what she catches, either to other campers or the local grocery stores and bars.
As she sat on the edge of the lake one evening, she saw a family wade into the water on the other side. She knew she would catch no fish due to the commotion, but found she didn’t mind, focusing instead on the love between the parents and the screams from their two children as they splashed one another. Their dog dove into the water, causing them to erupt with laughter, and Florence found herself smiling, too, and realized that she yearned to have something like that.
Coincidentally, as she walked back to her campsite empty-handed, on the public restroom was posted an ad for a local bachelorette challenge...
Some facts about the contestant:
☼ Florence has several nicknames given to her by her grandfather, including: Flori, Flora, Floribelle, and Esmeralda.
☼ Friend of the Animals Aspiration; loves the outdoors, clumsy, goofball
☼ Florence decided to join the competition as her time of mourning came to a close. As she walked towards her campsite after seeing the happy family, the face on the flyer caught her attention, and not just because of the beauty on it. Reading the text, Florence had tried to reason with herself and her fast-beating heart by making excuses, such as “you’re feeling mushy because of the scene at the lake” or “you just walked through the woods, so your heart is beating harder” knowing that all of it was bullshit. Reaching her campsite, she promptly turned back and dialed the number listed on the flyer to put in her application.
☼ After the contest, whether she wins or loses, she will be resuming her plan of studying to become a veterinarian, but would be willing to look into other animal hospitals rather than only Brindleton Pawspital (if Guinevere wanted to move elsewhere)
☼ The fishing tackle she fashioned into a bracelet can be seen being worn by her at almost all times, and if chosen, William Cassidy’s trophies will be seen somewhere within her personal area-- this shows that although she can come off as slightly shy and standoffish due to her recent non-socialization, she is in fact very sentimental.
☼ Punny-- her grandfather instilled into her a love of dad humor
☼ Adheres to the saying, “Go Big or Go Home” (which is one of the reasons she’s jumped right into a bachelorette challenge instead of coming back into humanity slowly).
☼ Really only wears makeup for special occasions
☼ Likes: Shades of greens and blues, fishing, hiking, being outdoors, animals, alternative and pop music, homemade gifts, succulents, sour cream and onion chips, finding herbs and produce around the area to cook with (she likes to experiment), and children (although she has little experience with them)
☼ Dislikes: People who leave their trash behind, people who are mean to animals, snobs, when technology doesn’t work, and having wet socks.
Private DL for @citrilet‘s bachelorette challenge; I hope you like her! As an aside, I named her Florence because it was popular in the 20s which was right around the time Guinevere emerged on the naming charts fjdlshfadf
