Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
"I'm not that tall Theia, I can give you a boost if needed," She raised a brow, "Offering to lift me, are we? It's a fireman's lift or nothing," She joked, flicking her hair over he shoulder in the kind of way Shiloh would do. It wasn't really her thing though. "I'm hurting today, that's why I'm limping a little more today. Fucked up at rehab, nothing new. It'll pass in a few days." A slight creased touched the middle of her brows, the only show of concern she'd allow - couldn't look to be too caring otherwise people would think she had feelings and all of that. "Seems kinda counter-productive to fuck up in rehab you moron," She rolled her eyes, but she was being honest; if he fucked it up too badly it'd just make things harder in the long run - or at least that was how she saw it.
At first she wondered if she'd finally offended him, but he seemed to shrug off her comment as he went to fetch the light. "I've only recently started coming up into my room," Okay that was a fair point but still, she frowned a little, "But you still had stuff to put in it, no?" She asked, wondering where the rest of it was. Everyone had stuff, even if it was shoved under the bed or in a garage or loft. "Besides, its not like I spend much time up here anyway. Don't really want anything out and about." That was another valid point considering how often she now saw him out and about, and this was the first time she'd actually come to his house. "It's not even that you have to display your life but.. this just seems so empty, or have you stuffed all your shoes and handbags under the bed?" She teased, lightening the mood somewhat before it could drag them down. Funny how with her friends she was the negative one, the gloomy one, quick to bring down the tone - and yet with Joe, she was always quick with a joke or a comment to change that around.
Theia's eyes shifted to his fingers as they drummed, her brain nudging her to the fact that it was a habit she'd noticed he often did in certain times of stress. Was she stressing him out by asking? Or was it just an uncomfortable question. The drumming wasn't fast like she'd known him to do. Not yet anyway. Then he nodded and her attention went back to the picture, standing still as he pointed everyone out one by one. "Were. They were my friends, my brothers, my family, I was their leader even though I was the youngest of them. We kept each other in line, they gave me alternatives when I thought there was only one course of action, David and Martin Bell - brothers, twenty-nine and thirty; David was going to be a father, Martin was going to marry his sweet heart back home after the tour. Jordan Lacey, thirty-two, sharp shooter and father of two little girls. Mathew Davis, twenty-eight, the biggest fool and the best friend anyone could've had. Liam Geen, twenty-nine, only son that was going to go home and look after his ill mother after his tour. Connor Hill, twenty-seven, gunner and always wanted to know when he was going to get a lick of rum and were all the ladies were at. And then my dog, Maddox. Only five years old, explosive detection dog for the only explosives defuser on the team."
Were. She was smart enough to hear that word at least. "We managed to convince our commander to take the photo for us right before we went out on patrol that day, this was a few days before everything ... turned to shit. I remember that day really well; one of the smoothest patrols we'd had in weeks. There was no need to draw and fire, no need for us to spy or be wary, we just did our rounds laughing, joking, promising to be the multiple best men at Martin's wedding... But can't do any of that now; had to box them all up and send them home. Couldn't face anyone about it; figured they'd all be pissed off that I survived and their partners, sons.. gone." She knew there was nothing she could say, this kind of thing ran deeper than 'sorry', but instead she reached for his hand. His hand with the glove. And clasped it, gently giving him a squeeze that she hoped conveyed at least something of comfort. She was terrible at this, she knew it, but she also knew you couldn't just say sorry and tell him to get over it. "War is mindless killing. Nobody wins on either side. Not really." She knew that might be the wrong way to say it, sometimes they had to fight for the good - fight against terrorism and that she understood. But usually the people out there actually getting shot at were just kids, civilians with normal lives waiting for them back home that they rarely got to see again. "Perhaps there was a reason you were saved, a higher purpose." She shrugged, even if she didn't believe in the big G herself.
He cleared his throat again and turned away, forcing himself to straighten up and steel his thoughts, "Lay the photo down when you're done looking at it." She pressed her lips together for a minute but set the picture back as it was upright, challenging him slightly. "What happens if I don't?" Her words weren't unkind, softer than usual but as if the comment was passing. "They shouldn't be hidden away." She could understand why he didn't want to see it, but he was going to have to face this as some point, and he clearly wanted the photo there - the only picture and only piece of sentimentality alongside the collar in his whole room- he was going to have to look at it again someday.
"Aw, and here I was thinking I was fast like Usain Bolt." She grinned at that and shook her head, "Even with two full functioning legs I don't think you'd even get close." If he did then he had definitely gone into the wrong profession and should have been out running the tracks making the money. "My oldest brother got this place set up. We all live here, kids and all. Crowded sometimes, noisy almost always. I'm just the resident free loader." Theia gave a slight snort at that, "Sounds just like the dorms," She heard plenty of crying and throwing up in the hallways outside her's and Shi's room, it was often crowded unless you knew the time of day to venture out - which she did - and it was regularly noisy, though with Shi having as much influence as she did she frequently called the shots on people turning their shit down. It was nice of his brother to set them up though, he seemed to have a decent enough family.
"Not looking for the queen of DIY, I just need some help where I can't get to. Namely changing a lightbulb. Old one's gotten dim, so time for a new one. Then onto the rest I guess. Rooms are up stairs." She pursed her lips and nodded, "That I'm pretty sure I can do, though I hate to remind you I'm not actually taller than you," She made a point of looking up at him; she might need a lift to reach the bulb. Glancing at the stairs as he walked past her, she caught the extra emphasis on his limp. "Are you trying to gain extra sympathy so I'll piggy back you up or have you hurt yourself?" She asked, the question borne of some concern for him, considering how little care he sometimes took of himself. "I'm just going to invade your kitchen for a drink," She added, seeing the way he hesitated at the bottom of the stairs and figuring he didn't need her breathing down his neck behind her, watching his steps.
It only took her a minute to find the kitchen, and then the fridge, happy to delve in of her own accord and rooting out two cans of cold coke. Full sugar too, none of that diet crap. She took a second to have a nose, but didn't find much of interest, and by the time she headed back to the stairs, Joe was pretty much at the top. She zipped up after him, reappearing at his side as he lead the way to his room. Theia blinked but made no other show of emotion as she looked at the bareness of the walls, and then she couldn't help herself. "Do you live here or do you just rent the room?" She snorted. Whilst she wasn't much for personal effects and sentimentality she did have stuff, and she did post up pictures. This room didn't feel lived in, or even really slept in, it felt cold and empty. She frowned - they were going to have to change that. Everybody needed a space to be their own.
"What's this?" She asked, breezing straight past him as if she were invited and over to the only interesting thing in the room, going to pick up the dog collar first to check the tag - she was gentle with it, careful as she set it back down and then picked up the photo instead, staring intently at the faces as she looked for Joe's in amongst the others - so young, far too young. "Are these your friends?" She asked, looking back over her shoulder to Joe to check he hadn't keeled over.
”None of us want to be here theia. . but you do seem more annoyed than the rest of us. .” Theia rolled her head and gave Dani a glare. "Because I've got better places to be, and blackmailing us to sit here and listen to this guy spew bullshit, is fucked up." She was starting to develop a headache, tension building at the back of her neck was now growing to extend behind her eyes and up her temples. It was only contributing to the terrible ass of a mood she was in. She was liable to start ripping heads any moment now.
"Yes, you all have a choice, but this is one of those fickle things when it comes to choice and mental health but we won't dive on that today, I don't think anyone here is actually capable understanding. But yes, you have a choice to seek out help. This is one class a week for little under an hour Miss - but let's review something," She narrowed her gaze on Pasha as he picked up a piece of paper. "This new class is mandatory, being only one day a week, to talk about mental health and will take up only five percent of your final grade. Failure to attend class may see disciplinary action... I don't read anything here that says you are being held at gun point. And the definition of a threat, to be threatened is a statement of an intention to inflict pain, injury, damage, or other hostile action on someone in retribution for something done or not done."
She rolled her eyes. "Technicalities, of course you'll be using them to get away with it." She snorted derisively. "The gun may only be metaphorical but 5% of a grade will make the different between a 1st and a 2nd at the end of it. Surprisingly, I'm sure, we all actually give a shit about our grades - or we wouldn't be here. So if you won't class this as threat, in the very least it's blackmail." She wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily, as if they could just leave if they wanted. "So, that means you are afraid and by choice you remain. Interesting. And that's fine, I don't expect anyone to actually care. You all have your own agendas. But this class isn't here for you to soul search and understand, that is what Fridays are for." Theia huffed and sunk further into her chair, "this is pointless. All this is going to achieve is a pot shot back and forth of who can insult you the best. We don't want to talk about 'what mental health means to you', we do not want to be here at all - I don't get why that's so hard for you to wrap your head around." She wondered if it would count if she walked out, or if they had to see it through to the end of class.
She rolled her eyes as Link made a point of taking a better look at her face, and then she frowned. She wasn't overly keen to talk about it, it had been stupid, a pointless waste of energy, and had only made her day 100 times worse, especially now she had to walk around with it. She caught his grin though and hoped he might not push it, might just let it lie at that - of course not though. He was young, just a kid, and it was gossip to talk about whilst the day was quiet. ”So what’s the damage on the other girl? Broken nose?”
Theia sighed and looked up at Link, her eyebrows still pulled together in a frown. "It wasn't a girl," not that a girl couldn't do this kind of damage, she knew women were just as vicious as men - more so in fact when it came to it. "It was some crack pot boy on campus. Think he was on drugs or something, kept muttering away to himself like he was chatting to the voices in his head." She shook her head. "This is why I don't do drugs," She pointed a finger at him in warning, "don't do drugs." She had tried most of them over the years, but rarely like the way they made her feel - and she'd given up on them pretty quickly, sticking to alcohol as he choice of high.
She heard the noise of someone headed for the door, the day was so quiet it wasn't difficult to pick up the thudding of footsteps - uneven one's at that, which meant it had to be Joe. She didn't know if any of his family would be in or not, and she half hoped they weren't so she didn't have to play the awkward friend and see the disapproving glances. She was not the kind of friend most family wanted for their impression young siblings or children. Not that she minded whether they liked her or not, it had no impact on her friendships. She looked back to the door as it opened, raising a brow at the smirk already on Joe's face.
"Surprised you haven't turned to ash on the front step yet," Theia tucked her red hair behind her ears and following him inside, into the relief of the cool. "It was getting close, I was just starting to smoke. I don't think you'll be signing up to the Paralympics for speed any time soon," She smirked and patted Joe's arm in a consolatory manner before she moved further into the hallway, looking around curiously as she slipped off her shoes and kicked them into a pile out the way. "Nice place," She said as she peered down toward what she could see was a kitchen, and a lounge behind them. She glanced to the stairs, figuring that his bedroom was likely on the second floor, despite his issue with getting there. "You should probably know, I'm shit at DIY, but I'm being nice and helping anyway." She warned; she was more likely to make a mess, and she could just be moral support or supervisor, but she often found she got bored of watching and wanted to try and do it herself. That was usually when it went wrong.
Theia had had some odd requests from friends over the years. It was a given considering the type of friends she had - Shiloh, Mal, Deimos, Dani, Alisha.. all of them got up to weird shit at times, and with Shiloh as the Queen Bee of the university she often rocked the odd requests; almost like demands at times, in all honesty. But - most of the time - Theia was glad to do them, on the occasion they were questionable, her heels would dig in until the time of a valid reason. This was different though; this was Joe, and she was coming to learn that there wasn't much she would deny Joe. If anything, she'd found it to be herself that had encouraged him, or pushed the boundaries. She had always been a firecracker growing up, she'd been the death of her parents and her difficulty to sit still or pay attention, or listen to authority over the years had had negative impacts on their relationship, the way her parents had reacted to her behaviour had really finished off any chance of a positive one.
With all the shit that had happened since she'd come to this town, her personality had shifted somewhat. She was known as the grumpy one, the mopey one, the depressive one - pessimistic, likely to sleep in and miss most of the day, to throw a book at someone for trying to drag her out of her slump. Days of it could sometimes become weeks when it was bad, but eventually she would resurface and come back out to play. Sometimes, she would remember how she used to be - always on the go, always up to something, always the first to say yes. She didn't think she'd ever be like that again but... Deimos caught her smiling the other day and teased her mercilessly for the rest of the day. Maybe, just maybe.... Joe was a little bit good for her somehow. She was wary of men, any men outside their circle of crazy, because she had been burned so many times, but even with her walls up, Joe seemed to be there chiseling away at them - without even knowing. Or so she thought.
Now, she was walking down the path toward Joe's family home. She hadn't been here before and she wasn't nervous but she was..cautious. She didn't need anyone passing judgement or assumptions on this. It was at the back of her mind, very slightly, that she would likely be hanging out in Joe's room. He had spent plenty of time in hers, but that was in her control, in her safe space. Men had fooled her before... but this was Joe. He wasn't that like. She shook it off, mentally rolling her eyes at herself- Jesus she was being morbid. She knocked on the door loudly, knowing if she didn't Joe would bitch about his hearing again. In her hand she clutched the only sign that showed she cared - a couple of folded up print outs of constellations. She was shit at DIY, she tended to be clumsy, tended to break instead of fix, but she had said she would help, and she'd even thought that maybe she could make it prettier but putting on his ceiling an actual copy of the night sky out his window. She sighed and pulled her phone out of her pocket, bringing up Joe's number in her WhatsApp she started a voice recording, "Joe, get your deaf ass down here and let me in, I don't like the sun, it burns." releasing her finger to ping the message over to him.
She caught his glance on the way past and rolled her eyes at his grin. The kid was far too cocky for his own good sometimes - but he worked hard, so she let it slide; most of the time. ”Yeah didn’t you get the memo?” She turned her gaze to their manager and gave them a slight raise of a brow - she wasn't Shiloh, and didn't turn things in the same way Shi did, but she still had her own ways of manipulation with people. She worked hard here, always had done, was rarely sick or late and picked up extra shifts. She'd earned respect, even if she didn't earn them as 'friends' with her often surly nature to her co-workers. But that didn't transcend to the customers and so the manager occasionally heeded her when she told them to give it a little slack... or the opposite, when someone was shite or taking the piss.
Without customers to wait on, she drifted over to the bar for a moment and wiped down the already clean and tidy bar top. ”What happened to your face then? This a you should see the other guy situation?” Theia glanced up at Link's voice, and her expression twisted slightly. She kept forgetting. She wasn't a girl who cared much for her appearance and as it no longer hurt unless you poked it, she'd already put it to the back of her mind. It was probably why her manager had given her an odd look too. Oh yeah. She didn't care to cover it with make-up, and she wondered if she'd get told to do something about it. Theia paused a moment, considering a lie, but they always sounded pathetic. In the end she shrugged. "Someone met me when I was having a bad day. Evidently so were they."
Theia was a little early to shift. Class had finished early as one of her professors hadn't turned up, so she'd actually had time to grab lunch for a change, and then switched into her uniform before walking to her shift at the pizza place. It was kind of nice she didn't have to rush for once and it meant she was about five minutes ahead of time. It didn't matter, most of the other workers were there already and she grabbed her apron, tying it around her middle in it's usual place. She let out a sigh and brushed the loose red hair from her forehead. She hadn't bothered to try to hide the bruises that peppered her cheek - luckily, the swelling around her eye had mostly gone, and the bruises had mottled to a moldly green and yellow instead of black.
Her friends had tried to weedle what had happened out of her but she'd kept quiet, refusing to tell them. They'd have gone and killed the kid, and she didn't want to hassle or the drama. What was done was done, she wasn't broken, and she wanted to move on. Luc had been concerned when he'd seen her face but she'd brushed it off, making herself look busy in a way she was good at doing - Theia didn't like to talk, and had figured out how to appear hassled so that people left her alone, not that she was work shy.
The final crew member bustled in a few minutes after clock in time, and she raised an eyebrow as she caught his words on his way in. "Ah what's five minutes between friends?" She snorted and shot him a look, "We're friends?" The corners of her lips turned up in a slight smirk as she headed over to flip the door sign to 'open' now they were all set to welcome customers.
”what’s up with you?” Theia's frown was practically tattooed on her face as she spared Danielle a small glance. "I don't want to be here," And she hated having to do something she didn't want to. She might let her friends reluctantly pull her out of her depressive bed to go clubbing or whatever, but that was different - they were her friends, trying to get her out and about. They were not forcing her to confront things she wasn't ready to in front of her fellow classmates. "So Miss, you want to say that health of the mind is a choice? So you'd rather elect to suffer or be impacted over finding better alternatives to cope with something? And who said I was going to ask how you were all feeling? I don't believe that I put that on the papers and I never said that this was what it was about." She rolled her eyes at his answer - oh she was so going to give him hell to pay in their next private session for this; whether he'd been asked or not she didn't care.
"It's still my choice, ours choice if we decide whether or not we want to seek out help. It is a choice - whether you do something about it or not, whether you choose to wallow or accept it or whatever. I don't appreciate having my choice taken away from me, and not even just that.. but to be threatened to attend this session. Please explain how that puts anyone in a good mindset to discuss their mental wellbeing?" She thought it was valid - and they were proving her point. Almost none of her friends were interested in taking this seriously, because they had been forced to. Threatened - blackmailed. How was that right? It was fucked up, and it wasn't going to encourage them to open up about private matters.
"Since most here in the room are more inclined to assume, let us play a game. It's quite simple. There is only one main rule - everyone is fair game. It's called Assumptions. You'll catch on quickly enough, Starting with Miss 'We Don't Get to Understand Things On Our Own'. I assume that you are a Know it All. For you, mister 'My Mental Health is Declining by Being Here', I'm going to assume that you are a Cocky Bastard. You, Miss 'We're All Here By Force', I'm assuming that you are a Bitchy Queen Bee that wants everything her own way. And Finally Miss 'Bullshit Questions' - I'm going to assume that you are Pissed at the World and Like Following in other people's shadows. And you Miss 'Appreciating Attractive Men', I'm going to assume that you are generally a nice individual, if a little too bold. Go on now, make your return assumptions about me." Theia shrugged, unaffected by the name calling, as she often was when people tried to insult her. "Why should I? You've hit the nail on head with our motley crew, perfect assumptions Mr Therapist, and I don't care to know a damn cent about you."
Theia frowned as the comments came, she was in a shitty mod as it was, and the girls around her were only making it worse. Her fingers curled into fists then uncurled, feeling a battle between anxiety and frustration. "Do you have to look at everything like it's a piece of meat for you to shag?" She muttered, not caring that the people to her other side also heard; she shot them a look that had them turning quickly away again. She felt Shiloh's eyes narrow on her, but her lips simply pressed together. Alisha didn't even look her way as she sighed. "Yep." Her lips popped on 'p', then curled upward. "It's our penance for being beautiful and having our pick of anyone we want." Theia mimed being sick at that.
"There is a sheet of paper on each of your desks," Theia turned her attention back to the front, her brow furrowing again as she looked briefly to the piece of paper on the desk. "It's a very brief questionnaire - you have the entire lesson to fill it out as we talk; please do not put your names on the papers. If you want to take notes, that is fine - I encourage it really, as the end of each month there will be a quiz on what we've discussed." She pulled a face as she glanced down along the questions. She would be answering these, no way in hell. She did her therapy, in private, without everyone knowing, and like hell was she going to scribble down in front of everyone what she was thinking.
"My name is Pasha Shaye. I don't expect much from you all - just simple respect in my classes. Fall asleep, catch up on other classes, or pay attention. So, now that that is out of the way, can anyone tell me what me what they believe mental health to be? No need to raise hands, speak in turn - no formalities here." Theia didn't intend to speak, but her irritations won out as she glared up at the front. "A choice. None of us chose to be here, and I don't think we should be subjected to answering ridiculous bullshit questions about how we're feeling."
This was absolute bollocks, and Theia was pissed. Perhaps a bit of an understatement, Theia was livid. It wasn't the same kind of anger as Shiloh - who would lash out and make sure everyone else was as fucked off as her, but it was a silently seething kind of anger. Probably a little appropriate considering they were traipsing their way to mandated group therapy. Apparently it was part of the health and social aspect of 'life at uni' - it made Theia want to gag. Probably because of their wild ways, all the drugs, sex and rock n' roll made the professors think they needed to put on a show of giving a shit. Theia had thought being at uni meant freedom of choice - like choosing not to attend. Apparently it hadn't been an option.
It wasn't even that she didn't want to talk to someone, it was the fact that the person she was talking to was the guy holding these damn sessions - and she hadn't told anyone she was in therapy. Her friends were good, they were her family and she loved them like it, but this was for her. She hadn't told anyone she was struggling. Shiloh was good at knowing without a word being said, they roomied together after all, good at knowing when to leave Theia to it and when to act - how to pull her out of it. But she hadn't told them how far down the rabbit hole she was, how in trouble she was, how it felt like she was drowning. And she didn't want them to know.
Theoretically, Pasha should make no motion as to the fact that he knew her, but people gave things away all the time. She was going to flip her shit if he gave it away. Her face was blank, if a little pale as she fell into line with her friends - Shiloh at the forefront of them all, as she always was, sashaying down the hall with her jaw set in frustration. They filed into the room together and Theia pointedly ignored the therapist, choosing to glare at the arrangements of the room. They had scrapped the rows and instead formed a semi-circle with the chairs to face the therapist and his board. Nowhere to find. Bastards. Theia had no choice but to sit next to Shiloh as she chose the central seat. She slid into the one on her right hand side, looking somewhat wistfully at the end seat she would have preferred.
She raised a brow slightly at his surprise, she'd thought he'd heard her enter the shop but he must have been too absorbed in whatever he was currently working on. His small smile sold that he was happy to take custom at this moment though and she offered a very slight one in response, as if her lips weren't quite used to the motion - unfortunately, Theia was more likely to frown than smile these days. "Yes, in deed I do repairs to boots of all kinds," That was encouraging, but he hadn't seen the sorry state of theses boots yet - with their multiple novice repairs.
"What sort of repair are you in for today? A new heel, sole, insert? Or is it more that the stitching is starting to go?" As he made some space at the counter, she reluctantly brought out the poor boots and placed them gently on the top. "Uhhh well..." She looked at them and wrinkled her nose. "They're quite a few years old now and I've tried my best to keep fixing them, but they've got quite a few holes and I think the sole is pretty dead." She frowned, picking one up so she could take another look to remind herself. "I just wanted to see if there was someone a professional could do that I couldn't before I pronounce them dead."
Theia sighed as she looked at the sorry state of her riding boots. She couldn't afford to replace them. All her spare cash went into paying for her accommodation and such at the uni, and the rest went on the care of her horses. She didn't splash out much on herself, it was why Shiloh tried to disguise her gift giving - dresses and shirts and such that she pretended didn't fit her, given to Shiloh because she couldn't be bothered to return it... despite them being in the wrong size for Shi. But there was always a limit to what Theia would accept, and despite Shi's attempts to get her new riding stuff, Theia refused. Shiloh didn't have horses or even ride, Theia could deal with it herself.
She had tried to mend the boots over and over, and she had managed it, but there was only so many patch jobs she could do before they started to look a bit mangled. She figured they needed a professional, and she sighed, giving in and deciding that it would probably be cheaper to get them fixed than shell out on a new pair. Wandering into the shop she had heard good things about, she gave a glance around the items on display and then her attention turned to the man at the counter, a soft classic lyric floating through the air toward her. She headed straight for the counter. "Hi, do you repair riding boots?"
GENDER: female AGE: nineteen D.O.B: 7th september SEXUALITY: straight STATUS: taken PLAY-BY: erika altosaar HAIR: dark red EYES: green
"I THOUGHT I SAW THE DEVIL THIS MORNING"
TATTOOS:this on her sternum SCARS: none DRINK: a fair bit SMOKE: yes DRIVE: yes GLASSES: yes HOME: student dorms, university
"LOOKING IN THE MIRROR, DROP OF RUM ON MY"
little on the wild side, impulsive, will dive straight into things without thinking or caring about the consequences, does whatever she wants, difficult to control, sometimes overly-energetic, spontaneous, inattentive, fun to be around, her unpredictability and ability to cause trouble/not listen pushes people away, moody, can't force her to do things she doesn't want to do, stubborn, can go through periods of laziness - again depends on mood, extremely loyal to her friends and will stick up for them, not very forgiving, if you mess with her that'll be it for you, feisty, if you get on her bad side watch your back - she's not all talk, overly defensive, will naturally lash out at people if she thinks they're getting at her, a little paranoid, pushes people away as scared of them disappointing her or turning their backs on her, untrusting, can be grumpy, resting bitch face, not hard to get to lighten up
LIKES: getting into trouble , fashion , classical music , reading , acting , pink lady apples , period dramas and movies , travelling , acting , chemistry , hanging out with her friends , exploring unusual places , sci-fi DISLIKES: , being yelled at , misunderstandings , people thinking she needs help , green beans and brussel sprouts , hangovers , slow walkers , snow , complicated feelings , unnecessary physical contact; she's not a hugger , playing third wheel STRENGTHS: fearless , acting skills , good memory , compartmentalising WEAKNESSES: not great at writing/spelling - dsylexia , short attention span; undiagnosed ADHA , impulsive , digs her heels in if she doesn't want to do something; will do it out of pettiness FEARS: friends turning their backs on her , not getting anywhere with her acting SECRETS: has dyslexia and undiagnosed adhd , unsure if she wants to date anymore due to many failed relationships and heartbreak
"TONGUE, WITH THE WARNING TO HELP ME SEE"
STATUS IN SOCIETY: middle class OCCUPATION: student - theatre, english literature and chemistry EXPERTISE: acting , period dramas; it's a secret love of hers , getting into places she shouldn't WEALTH: comfortable PROUDEST MOMENT: she got a small role in a tv show recently - it was just a background role as an extra, it wasn't even paid, but it's her first toe in the door for becoming an actress MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: her and shiloh originally disliked each other - shiloh stole her clothes and towel after a shower following a p.e lesson when theia first started, leaving her to have to do a nude run all the way back to the dorms. she still gets reminders of this day from time to time but she waves it off; she got shiloh back good once and after that the two become best friends.
"MYSELF CLEARER, I NEVER MEANT TO START"
FATHER(S): erik johnathon redfern - 51 - lawyer MOTHER(S): sabine rashell redfern nee forester - 42 - manager of an investment firm STEP-PARENT(S): none OTHER HALF: not dating yet but taken by Joseph Khair Mccarran - 21 - army officer SIBLINGS: damien dean redfern - 21 - trainee doctor CHILDREN: none
theia has always been the 'wild child' of the family, a little eccentric, hard to control. even as a child she was a little terror, always climbing out of her crib and getting lost. she worried the heck out of her parents, but theia didn't care. as she grew older, she realised that her parents had always craved a boy, and so when damien had been born they thought that their family was set. however two years later along came theia - surprise! they hadn't planned for her and though she was never neglected, she always felt that there was a difference in the attention she received and she resented her family for it.
whilst her brother received praise for everything, love and attention, she generally felt that she was the lesser child, and everything she strived to do to make them proud never made much of a difference. after a while she gave up, taking to lashing out, pushing back and driving them to the brink instead. she would get into trouble at school, stay out all night and stagger home drunk the next morning, meeting boys, and allowing her grades to fall below pass marks. it worked for a while - her parents focused on her if only to try grounding her, or telling her off, and though she pushed back, deep down she knew it was the only way to get them to notice her. as she grew older, with no attempt to change, they began to let go - feeling that they couldn't get through to her. rather than persisting they eventually gave up, and stopped giving her attention for her failures. the only person theia felt really cared was her brother damien. he was the only one who could get through to her when she did something reckless, the only one who could get away with reprimanding her.
the family moved to hickstead when her father got a new job, and it happened to coincide with theia's wish to pursue a career in acting; this university was one of the few that was known for it's success and her parents passively encouraged her with this being one of the few avenues she would actually put work into. theia knew that her parents only agreed because of her brother - who had sway over them that theia didn't and had just joined the local hospital on an internship; that theia's wishes just happened to be in the same area was a bonus.