jo-s-mitchell

[jo-s-mitchell]

Ames, 31, EST, they/them, n/a ⇢ i swear i just saw TESSA THOMPSON out on the streets but it turned out to be JOLENE SAMARA MITCHELL. SHE was born on JANUARY 4TH, 1989 making them only 31 years old. They’re known to be +HARD-WORKING +KIND and -CUNNING -CAUTIOUS. They spend most of their time being an ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY. Rumour has it they’re PANSEXUAL, and can be found in DOWNTOWN LA. You know you’ve found them when you come across LATE NIGHT PAPERWORK, CANCELLED PLANS, and SINGING IN THE SHOWER. 

TW: death, depression

TLDR: Jo lost her parents when she was eleven to a drunk driver who got away with it due to affluence.  Due to that, she pushed herself to focus on school, and eventually law.  Totes “doesn’t” have depression that she’s masking with work and wine, and is currently an ADA for the LA drug and alcohol division.

Jolene was born late one evening to a mother and father who had spent years trying to have a child, and were blessed through trial and tribulation with their only daughter.  Her mother was a simple woman- a grade school teacher with a soft heart and softer voice, someone who tried in their community to improve the lives from the children she cared for at the school she worked at.  Her father was a hardworking man, working himself to the bone probably more than he should at the quarry he worked at.  While both had once had dreams of a baseball team of children, they quickly allowed themselves to accept the dream of building up and adoring their little girl. 

From a young age, Jo was incredibly bright.  While not exactly the most social of children, she quickly fell in love with books and the power of the word.  She read far above her grade level, her writing and math skills seemed above average, and she was often the teacher’s favorite.  Of course, bullying tended to occur- so she simply withdrew from most children her age, and was often rewarded by adults for her less than childish behaviors.

In fifth grade, things changed.  One evening, her parents dropped her off at her grandmother’s house for a much needed date night, and promised to return before nine that night.  But as the hours ticked by, and phone calls weren’t answered, both Jo and her grandmother grew increasingly worried- but the older woman chose to tuck the girl into her bed and wait for what could be terrible or okay news.  Around two in the morning that night, the worst of their fears were answered.  Jo, who had not been able to sleep with the worry on her mind, sat at the top of the stairwell and watched her grandmother’s face in the flash of red and blue lights as police informed her that both adults had perished in a car accident caused by a driver under the influence.  And something… broke a little bit inside for the girl.  She moved in officially with her grandmother that week.

As she grew older, she didn’t apply herself to anything outside of school, keeping to herself and studying as hard as she could.  She didn’t make many friends, choosing loneliness and coffee over parties and the like.  Sleepless nights were common, either due to homework or nightmares that wouldn’t leave her alone.  She watched as the man who had driven drunk walk away from the trial with an acquittal due to family affluence, and that little broken part of her broke a little more- but it centered her more than anything else ever did.

She spiraled hard into her depression that she’d spent a lifetime ignoring, but drove herself into the least amount of madness by working, by trying to help.  To her, life was something to have when the work was finished- and the work was never ever finished.  She hid much of her frustration, sadness, anger, often watching from the shadows of others’ visions unless forced to speak- which lead to sarcasm and quips, with rolled eyes and a fierce determination to not be deterred.

She never took to having many friends- mostly one or two homebodies who understood why she often cancelled plans or flaked out on them for the sake of school or work.  She never had long term relationships, most of her romance being found in novels or between the sheets- something quick and something she didn’t have to commit to.  All of this was for the sake of making sure another child didn’t have to face the reality of their parents’ killer walking away again.

Graduating from Stanford college with her law degree was only a step in her plan.  She threw herself into the first law office that accepted her and worked harder and longer than most of her colleagues.  She sought to prove herself, to prove that she was worth something beyond herself.  On bad days, or even stressful ones, she finds herself with a bottle of wine to drown the parts of her that she wishes survived those years ago.  Otherwise, she can be found working on cases pretty much anywhere she is, from restaurants to her desk, and is rarely found without her work nearby.  She’s been working as ADA for the Los Angeles drug and alcohol division for a small handful of years now.