claraetc

[claraetc]

"jeez, i'm not the cops or a hater, just me," they start, walking a little faster to appear in ian's view. with the heat that ian had been receiving lately due to his past, especially with the podcast, clara thought that he could use some sort of reprieve from thinking of it all. in their eyes, that apparently meant sneaking up on him during the middle of the night with an offering of donuts. with their knowledge of how ian likes to fight his own battles, it was the least they thought they could do. "i traded that donut place some stale muffins for a free dozen. they didn't suspect a thing," clara announces, sticking the box out in his direction. in all their elegance, they pretend to throw the box like a frisbee before gently setting it down next to ian. "what's all that?" they ask, head motioning in the general area of his truck and the bucket.

location: ian's trailer

status: open

ian couldn't escape it anywhere. he'd spent the week being dragged in and out of the police station and now he lacked peace even in his own home. he had just finished scrubbing the splash of red paint off his truck when gravel crunched next to the trailer. headlights pierced his vision illuminating him into a haunted, gaunt thing. he dropped the soapy sponge back into the bucket and stalked forward, figure imposing against the night sky. "if you're here from that stupid podcast." he called out. "you should know that the cops will still arrest you even if you think you're doing vigilante shit." he peered around trying to see who was in the driver's seat.

[claraetc]

"you really don't think it all was funny in the slightest? hello fresh will sponsor anybody these days," they laugh, not sharing the same concern as theo. maybe clara simply had a different perspective. they were lucky enough to come out of the first episode unscathed, even though they figured that with how many people had been aired out so far and their secret connection to hope, their time could come soon. "it's not like they had backing for anything they said. it could all literally be fake. i don't think anybody who actually matters in figuring out what happened will listen to that and care," they shrug. however, clara knew for a fact that the information shared about theo was true. their suspicions about him only grew with how concerned he was about the podcast. "just drop that shit and move on. they probably just want to get a rise out of everybody," clara offers, but truly wishes that he won't.

"are you kidding me? that podcast is a literal nightmare, they should be sued for, i don't know, interfering with an investigation or something. hope's barely cold and they got a sponsorship." how did they get a sponsorship? they seem like nobodies but apparently it didn't take much but the promise of sensationalism. it didn't help they made a point in the episode to say the most obvious shit like 'the boyfriend' did it. he did not need that on his head when the police just talked to him.

theo ran a hand through his hair, huffing. "look, sorry i raised my voice. i just hate what they're saying."

[claraetc]

unlike many, clara had been saved from the mass podcast exposé and it was safe to say that they were as grateful as they were entertained by the information. it wasn't all new though - they were quite aware about andy's distaste for hope. if it only it would've clicked in clara's head that hope was the catalyst that drove them apart. tasked with cleaning off tables, they couldn't have guessed andy's reaction as they approached. "you sure about that?" they question, eyebrows raising at their ex. after years of a forbidding feeling falling over what they once had, the question was out of the blue in their opinion. however, it wasn't too unwelcome. "well, uh, i was more so just offering to clear off your table," clara starts, motioning to what andy had left behind, "but i don't get off work for a few hours anyways, so..." they trail off.

status: open location: cafe

It was a nice, rainy afternoon when Andy settled themself at a window seat and took out their sketchbook to draw the local wildlife. Though there was something else in the air lately— tension, and lots of it. Everyone seemed to be on edge ever since the local podcast went viral with its namedrops and theories. Andy was one of them, but was lucky enough to dodge most of the fire with only a casual namedrop before the hosts' theory on someone else was spilled. They were halfway spaced out just thinking about it before a familiar face caught their attention and they put on an automatic smile. "Wanna be my next victim?" they asked as they held up the sketchbook to demonstrate they wanted to draw the person, and then belatedly realized their mistake in dialogue. "Poor choice of words," they admitted with a shrug. "But you get it. I'm asking for company."

[claraetc]

[claraetc]

( CHASE SUI WONDERS / 25 / NON-BINARY / SHE / THEY ) — did you see HOPE’S SUPERFICIAL FRIEND, CLARA ZHAO, wandering around the mercer hollow today? i heard around town that the COLLEGE STUDENT and BARISTA is AFFABLE, and ANIMATED, but also VENGEFUL, and SHAMELESS. people say that they remind them of A PLATFORM BOOT DUCT TAPED TOGETHER, AN OLD JUKEBOX, and RASPBERRIES EATEN OFF FINGERTIPS, but how well can you ever really know someone in mercer hollow? ( bennie / 22 / mst / they/she )

PINTEREST ( other links tbd ) .

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒

full name: clara elise zhao nicknames: if you can come up with a good one they'll take it lol age: twenty five  birthday: april 13th chart: aries sun / pisces moon / scorpio rising gender: non-binary pronouns: she/her & they/them (no preference) sexuality: bisexual & biromantic  faceclaim: chase sui wonders height: 5′5 hair: brown eyes: brown tattoos: a few small ones in patchwork style piercings: three earlobe piercings on each ear clothing style: lacy shirts paired with ripped jeans, torn fishnets, oversized t shirts and maxi skirts, doc martens duct-taped together, aged silver jewelry painted over with nail polish, platform converse, leather jackets, graphic t shirts (often with graphic sayings lol) with a polo collar peeking out occupation: barista at black ridge coffee and college student (biology major, final year of undergrad)

𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃

uhhhh right out of the bat let's get into her EVIDENCE 😍 this is private knowledge to muses and nobody knows but clara but ... us muns can know as a little treat. clara was the result of a one night stand between bridget zhao and an unnamed mercer man (hope's uncle). not wanting a kid at all for many reasons (like he maybe was cheating on his wife lol), he disowned the zhao's quickly and after his name was forcibly put on clara's birth certificate (bridget is petty as fuck), he actually paid them a fair amount of hush money in order not to tell anyone else. as soon as clara was old enough to understand though, her mother told her who her father was, and since then she's had a strong distaste for the mercer family - some concoction of longing, jealousy, and hatred.

growing up was pretty lonely for clara, yktv when besides your mom you have 0 other family and you don't really make friends until mid elementary school because until then you just kind of like to stick your hands in the mud and chase your classmates around with worms? besides that, life was pretty decent. although they weren’t well off, clara's mom always made sure there was a pack of ice cream sandwiches in the freezer and clearance rack flowers on the kitchen table which was aided by the pay from her long hours as a dentist.

truthfully, nothing else notable happened during their childhood-high school. this is partially because it's true and also i am leaving it open in hopes of big plots with other muses who were in mercer hollow at the time 🧍‍♂️ if you have any ideas ... do lmk. in high school though, clara was nearly expelled for picking a fight during lunch of her junior year. having no other record, she made a deal with the principal to get it taken off her record if she got a 4.0 that semester, and thankfully was able to.

post high school graduation is about the time when the mercer hate train started to kick in. seeing hope get straight into college and continue to just be lil miss perfect with all the time in the world to improve her image, clara started to get jealous. they weren't able to go straight into college due to not having the money, and their mother didn't want to take out any loans. they also spent most of their time working, rather than just getting to do what they wanted like her.

however, upon getting accepted to the biology program at 22, clara and hope started to run in the same circles with classes/friends. instead of ... being an absolute dick to hope, clara decided to fake it until they made it because hope was still ... family 🫤 whether she liked the mercer's or not and thankfully hope seemed to be on the same page that she really didn't like clara below the surface, but unbeknownst to their connection.

anyways, they're going into the last year of their degree, making 40,000 lattes a day, celebrating and crying about hope's death, yktv or not i'll save you from reading more.

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘

clara? a good time ... mostly. i'd say they're pretty easy to get along with, most always kind and they'll do everything in their power to hold a conversation. they're a great storyteller and they like to see how people think :P

they also love a good laugh. unless they really have to, they don't tend to take a lot of things seriously. for instance, if you're the right company, she'll probably make some jokes about hope's death/disappearance too, half as her way of coping.

never having anyone super close to them growing up, they crave interaction with others and just really any relationship they can get. it doesn't matter if it's healthy, toxic, or just the most simple thing as them seeing you as a regular even if you've only come to get coffee from them once. while there may be a some exceptions (see: hope), just being around people is enough to satiate them. like small talk and holding the door open for people and smiling at people when they walk by them? right up their alley.

on the more negative side ... clara is a supreme grudge holder. mainly self proclaimed. if you wrong her to a certain point, it's basically over. it will be extremely difficult to get back on her good side. also, due to their people loving nature they also tend to be quite naive sometimes. even though they swear revenge is in their nature, it's not a rare occurrence for them to get walked all over while doing nothing about it. if they see the light, then the hatred will kick in, but you've got like 5-10 strikes usually.

additionally, they really just could not care less about what people think about them either. maybe being exposed for her evidence later will push her limit with this, but they sadly give me the vibes of the person that will just film absolutely wild tik toks in the middle of a supermarket check out lane even though everyone is looking at them like they want them dead.

in short: positive traits: personable, soft-hearted, analytical, intuitive, humorous, intelligent, a good listener, mostly open-minded, caring, logical, affable, animated

negative traits: inarticulate about feelings, unforgiving, vengeful, shameless, sometimes quick tempered, impatient, sometimes critical, vulgar, sometimes naive

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

friends from college/mutual friends with hope. i say "friends" loosely because clara wasn't really friends with hope either. just people that were in the same circle, got invited to the same things.

friends in general! they like people!!!

regulars at black ridge coffee. could be good or bad. maybe she uses the foam to put menacing things on their cup as a threat.

an idiotic pair of friends/bad influences for the other. tbt to the high school fight, clara sometimes likes to get in #dangerous behavior. borderline crimes ... shoplifting from chains ... drugs ... other things of the sort but never caught! yet

found family i beg of thee. sibling like friendships ... a father figure

a pair where they're equally as convinced that the other had a hand in hope's death or disappearance. with the knowledge of her lineage being private, the other muse would have to theorize about some other dirt for clara

a roommate! clara moved out at 22 once she got into college. this could either be on campus roommates or off. with clara's funds tho ... keep in mind they might not be living in the best place ever

similarly, neighbors! they could be neighbors now or from clara's childhood home

gut wrenching hate plots of where they really love each other but things just can’t work out for one way or another. love that shit

gentle romance <3 slow burn. someone who won’t hurt her. we can always plan for this and try for chem and just see where the wind takes us.

or unrequited love idk!!! could go either way.

people who treat clara like shit! but she likes being around them anyways because she doesn't feel that alone. could be hookups, friends, anyone. could be juicy if your muse knows they can basically do anything to clara and takes advantage of her.

the person that clara fought in high school LMAO?

other people that clara seeks revenge from??

as i mentioned in the background portion, i am very much open to clara taking any wcs/big plots that they could fit at any point, esp in their past. if you have something you're looking for, even if you're not sure if it'll work, ask me anyways bc most often i will be happy to make it work lol

licharally i am open to anything

strike through = taken

[claraetc]

Ocean Vuong, from “Dear Peter”, Time Is a Mother

[claraetc]

[claraetc]

CHASE SUI WONDERS as Samantha Yeung in CITY ON FIRE: We Have Met the Enemy, and He Is Us (2023)

[claraetc]

𝘾𝙇𝘼𝙍𝘼 𝙕𝙃𝘼𝙊 ➙ tag dump

[claraetc]

NEW SONG: Black Butterflies & Déjà Vu

[claraetc]

Just saw a drunk dude going down the street with an unlit cigarette in his mouth listening to the Addams Family theme on his phone’s speakers