#she can handle being personally mistreated but gets extremely defensive when it's someone she cares about being hurt

[fromtheseventhhell]

Sometimes I see people misinterpreting Arya's character and honestly, all it does is make me appreciate her that much more. George could've easily written her into as a basic archetype and instead, he gave us one of the most complex and well-developed characters in the series and I'm forever grateful for that 🫶🏾

[bloxdstained]

&.  marie avgeroupolos : female : she/her : evil  by dove cameron  —  It seems mattea nicolosi has been lured to Volterra. the twenty-two / four hundred and one # -year-old vampire has been in the city for 395 years. Whispers in volterra says they’re part of Volturi clan.  doesn’t short sword dripping with blood, eyes glinting with vicious mirth, leather clad boots remind you of them?   ⸢  penned by sirius  : 29 :  gomt+1 : she/her. power: fear inducement.

about ; 

mattea was born in 1621, into a struggling working class family. her mother had immigrated from Greece for a better life, and her father was a butcher and a disappointment in his parents eyes. 

life at the nicolosi household was not charming. with an abusive father and husband, and a meek and submissive mother mattea didn’t find any of her parents worth looking to for guidance. 

when mattea was seven, her father moved them from their small south italian town to Volterra in hopes of a new job. 

instead mattea’s parents were caught to be one of the volturi’s regular meals, lead to the throne room, oblivious of their fate. 

mattea had been with them when they entered the castle, but as she got in a scuffle with an older boy during the tour, the two of them hung back. 

mattea had been gifted since birth, able to feel and know the fears of the people in her close proximity, and amplify them. 

because she got angry at the older boy, mattea used her then untrained gift on him, while from the shadows a female vampire watched. 

after witnessing the power of mattea’s gift, the vampire knocked the girl unconscious and kidnapped her, taking her with her to an abandoned cottage a few miles outside of the city. 

at first mattea was chained and only given meals trough a door, never seeing who was holding her captive.

then the vampire began presenting her with humans to use for practice, wanting the girl to develop her gift further with the plan of training her and then bringing her to Aro himself. 

at first the humans would appear in the room, gagged and bound, and a female voice would speak from the shadows, giving orders. if tea refused, she was denied both food and water for days. when that did not work, the vampire went to more extreme methods to break the girl. 

she’d use a belt first, other times just her fists, but the worst weapon of all used to get compliance, was the blow torch. the searing pain of the flames too much for even a stubborn human girl to handle. 

over the years, the female vampire taught tea how to fight to defend herself and sent the girl out to learn to hunt with a rifle and sometimes a sword. all tactics she considered sufficient for survival only. 

mattea was left to her own devices for months at a time, at first locked up, but as her captor thought her more compliant, she was allowed free range of the cottage and the forest outside it. 

though at some point, the need to break free would always be strong enough for mattea to try to escape, which she did try about a dozen times, each time with harsh consequences. 

one time she nearly reached the city before she was caught again, and she spent months after dreaming about being back there, the little she had seen of it as a child fresh in her memory. 

when mattea was eighteen, another vampire showed up at the cottage. he didn’t attack her or mistreat her, instead he spoke calmly to her, wanting to know what she had experienced. she told him everything, unsure how he could help. 

when the female vampire came back, he let mattea kill her, and she took her sweet time, feeling every single terror her tormentor was feeling until her moment of death. 

then he asked if she would come with him, and given that he had just liberated her, and was offering a home in the city, mattea said yes. 

from that moment onward, mattea was found to be as close to the vampires side as she could get. he was her savior, her newfound idol, one to be observed and admired. 

at first she didn’t know that he had spared her life for two reasons. one she was his singer, her blood the rare kind that sang to him and tasted better than any humans blood ever would. the second that she was gifted and prone to be a good ally and asset if she chose to be turned.

at first she only felt gratitude and relief that he had spared her life, but as she grew older, she felt both indebted to him, and came to care deeply for him. 

after a few years as a human by his side, mattea asked him to turn her, so she could live for eternity, finding that what she wanted most of all, was to spend it with him. 

four hundred and one year later, mattea is not only fiercely loyal to her creator and mate but deeply in love with him. 

he was in the Volturi guard, so she trained hard, using both her power and her body to get strong enough to be a resource and an asset, joining the guard after two years of extensive training.

he’s always cared for her, made her take her job less seriously and enjoy life in the moment more. 

becoming a bit more free, she’s sassy and reckless, prone to forget about responsibilities and everything else when the two of them are together. 

she does as she pleases with little regards for the opinions of others. 

it helps that she is a skilled fighter as well as a gifted vampire. she has a lot of defenses and not really a lot of ethics that bind her to keep them at bay. 

her power allows her to feel the fears of others and amplify them at will. if she really concentrates she can sometimes make her target see their fears manifest as if real. 

she uses her power mostly when her coven needs her to or asks her to, though also to defend herself if she has to. 

but she’s also got a lot of traits from her creator, such as a wildness and viciousness that others should be aware of. if someone crosses her or on bad days, just annoys her, she’ll make sure they regret it. 

the only person who can really tell her off is her leaders and her mate, and he’s also the only one who can tell her no if she wants something she might not ought to have or do something that is dangerous or could implicate others. 

facts ; 

tea owns an extensive weapons collection. she doesn’t really need it but she is very fond of swords, knives, anything with a sharp edge. 

spending a lot of time around the cultured Volturi, she learned to sing, often to accompany someone to sing along when an instrument like the piano is played. its something she truly enjoys but doesn’t do too often. 

she likes to dress in a lot of leather and black, not really the high fashion type unless she has to blend in. 

she has a diary and has been journaling since she was seven years old 

likes to braid her hair to get parts or most away from her face 

had an older brother who didn’t live with her parents when they moved to Volterra (see the WC page!) 

please come plot with this little crazy cat i’m dying to get her going!! ^^

[madamhatter]

Only brought up in heavy-built plots or threads based into Sophie when “older” (but can happen as soon as 18), but her relationship with Fanny and living situation itself is throttled into disarray. Growing tension between mother and daughter, daughter’s façade crumbling at the painfully acute awareness of her situation, and the full realization of mother’s treatment of daughter by said daughter are what escalate this point. 

The eldest daughter, across verses that fall under the umbrella of ‘modern verse’ that includes AUs and her standard, would be homeless. She also will not be on speaking terms with her mother, but she will find herself obligated to come back to help. Sophie is deserted of home, of security, of protection, and of stability to the life she willingly accepted for the sake of her sisters’ happiness. 

( For a glimpse of how it plays out in Sophie’s default modern verse, check out this drabble! ) 

The situation shifts per verse, but is always started/surrounding Sophie’s intent of rectifying and needing to do something to help out her family or handle larger problems that could harm her family. The time that is spent away from the household, as the sisters are in their apprenticeship, could vary but it is usually some months. 

Overview:

Fanny ends up spending much of the money Sophie makes for the business that is meant to both keep it open, support Martha and Lettie, and care for her late father’s debts. 

Sophie does not have a livable wage. Actually, to be blunt, she has no wage. She does not receive ANY monetary compensation, despite how much her work makes. 

Any money paid is directed to her mother. She does not have a private bank account where she can place away money. An account exists but Fanny has access to it. Sophie keeps money stowed away 

Any responsibilities including bookkeeping and budgeting is done by Sophie, but she has been getting her mother’s clearance to push through with her plans. Fanny always agrees to do it. 

Sophie’s absence/disappearance can be seen as her running away (as per book canon) that Fanny bemoans is from Sophie being overworked. The mother’s mistreatment of the daughter isn’t anything a new revelation and has been known in the household and others. However, Fanny never batted an eyelash or even just, you know, cared to talk to her daughter about it. 

Sorry, this is a tangent, but it makes no sense for someone to conjure a story (or reason) that Sophie ran away, considering her personality and mentality. In the material, Sophie is explicitly described as the opposite of even wanting to go out and would rather work herself to death. It is alarming and suspicious for someone like Sophie to suddenly vanish! Her behaviors and personality are NO secret from her family, which makes the Fanny explanation a brain-scratcher.

Sophie absolutely hates the idea of ‘running away’ when it comes to responsibilities and helping. That’s no secret either! She’s full-on vocal about it! 

Fanny ends up voicing her worries when they reunite but doesn’t continue further on that. It’s only the sisters, Lettie mainly, who realize the strangeness of sister’s disappearance is, thought her to be in trouble, and mobilizes something. The mom ends up putting up an award, but hm...

Then comes the fact that Sophie literally told no one about her situation, canonically, as a means to not inconvenience them/trouble them. Which is something connected to her inability to ask for help and keeping a lot to herself.

Sophie’s sisters understand her a LOT more than their guardian does. That’s my takeaway.

During her disappearance/absence, Fanny marries Mister Smith and, in this case, sells the family home and moves elsewhere. The house itself is unrecognizable from the inside, almost looking like no one lived there at a point. 

In the case of absence, Sophie isn’t informed of the wedding, nor invited. In the case of disappearance, it was something that was planned during her time gone. In both cases, this relationship was built up within roughly less than a year of the father/husband’s death. 

Sophie basically returns to an empty house and is well, already on the edge after her trouble. She later learns the news of her mother being remarried. Any concerns or worries that she have thought her mother had for her is proven wrong.

There is much more under the surface; especially with how proud/protective Sophie can be about anything regarding family (i.e., memorializing/keeping things in check). This applies to the family house, something that’s been with the Hatters for generations, and something she maintained, repaired, and worked from. It’s a lot more symbolic to her to represent what she needs to keep up for her sisters.

There will be a first and “final” confrontation between the two. It turns amicable and slightly tense, to a complete mess. Depending on the verse, she is already a vagrant when this event happens, or this is the event that pushes her over the edge to make that decision. 

During this time, Sophie will be attached to a suitcase and end up having to frequently move around and will not have a permanent residence for a while. 

She still retains responsibilities to the company, but she is sending everything she can to familiar employees belonging to her mother’s office. Sophie set a “dead line” for all of the extraneous work Fanny doesn’t do. When that date comes, she will not do any more paperwork or make major decisions. She will only continue doing commissions and designs pre-existing patrons that originally were her father’s patrons. Unfortunately, most of that money will still go to her mother! So, she takes up more independent work to try and support herself. 

Character-wise, Sophie in this state is very, very much trying to act like nothing is wrong. It’s a part of her defense mechanism and she will not ever utter her circumstances to anyone. Most may perceive that she is living life normally (or as she usually does), but that is far from the truth. If anyone catches any truth to the situation, and tries to help, she is refusing it on the spot, and going to talk down the offer -- almost outright offended by the implication.

However, she is very very much not in any healthy state, emotionally, mentally, and physically. She will push herself, now more adamant to overwork herself and her health issues will spike. There is a great deal of strife, pain, and doubt inside of her. She refuses to let it out. 

Dread looms over her and drags down her façade, revealing quite a bit of unrefined and troubled parts of herself. There can be instances of unbridled snappiness and cold shut-downs, leaving her to become extremely reclusive. Usually, it would be trying to overcompensate these feelings and trying to find her footing. 

Though, to observe that (the more negative sides),  you need to be in a private space (read: residence or living quarters). It is possible if the person managed to drag her to stay with them or she may be temporarily staying with them. 

If you managed, good luck! 

TLDW; Sophie, in this stage of life, is doing that big change that is going to be very painful and troubling for her. 

[the-sapphire-general]

My Thoughts and Feelings About Sephiroth (Part 2)

There was originally going to be just one part about what I think and feel about Sephiroth, but it turns out I have more to say than I thought I did. You can say I'm passionate about Sephiroth. Not a day goes by without at least thinking about him several times. Lol Anyway, if you haven't read my previous post, here's the link because I will describe things I have said in the first part in more detail.

My Thoughts and Feelings About Sephiroth (Part 1)

As I mentioned before, I can identify with Sephiroth. At first I didn't consider him an idol considering how different we are, but I realized about the similarities we have, even if those similarities can be different. I hate mentioning my former friend, but she used to be someone that took advantage of me, a lot of the time without my knowledge. So I know how Sephiroth must have felt after discovering that everyone lied to him about his origins. Now his situation was extreme compared to mine, but the key thing is we were both betrayed somehow. It's difficult to handle, and we both took it hard, with Sephiroth taking it farther than me. Betrayal, whether big or small or somewhere in between the two, isn't pleasant, especially if those who betray you are people you thought you could trust. I know what that's like, and it's not an easy thing to just brush off as if it were nothing.

To further prove how Sephiroth and I are similar is our personality traits. For starters, we are both quiet. Now it's hard to tell online if someone is shy or outgoing, but believe me, I'm one quiet girl. I'm real timid in real life. I don't think Sephiroth was timid, and I bet he was just sheltered growing up. Be honest. Hojo sucked as a father, and Sephiroth wasn't treated like a human being. So Sephiroth may have been socially awkward, which can appear as timidity or coldness. I'm timid and I can get a bit anxious, but I hide it really well. I'm not a social butterfly, and neither is Sephiroth, but that doesn't mean I'm purposefully ignoring others. It's just I'm not good at socializing. I am socially awkward myself and people have to get to know me to know the real me. Others saw Sephiroth as cold and distant, but they didn't even try to get to know him. Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos saw past this and became his friends. Sadly others see me as cold and distant as well, and to be honest it hurts. I bet it bothered Sephiroth as well. Or maybe he didn't care, I don't know. I'll believe that it did bother him. Of course, despite our shortcomings, Sephiroth and I do have friends (well, Sephiroth used to have friends). I may struggle to be social, but I can bond with others. I mean, hello! I have my boyfriend, his friends, my family, my own friends, and my online friends. Sephiroth had a few close friends, but at least it's something. Angeal and Genesis. I swear, if things didn't get so screwed up, they would have been best friends forever. Heck, Zack could have been a great friend to Sephiroth if he was given the opportunity. In a way, they could have helped Sephiroth back in Nibelheim, but the damage is already done.. What I'm trying to say is I understand this real well because I've been there. It just makes me want to give Sephiroth a hug and possibly a kiss to comfort him and let him know that I care. Though he might be annoyed by my affection. Lol

The next similarity we have is we're intelligent. Unfortunately a lot of people don't see me as intelligent, but Sephiroth's intelligence is what has me striving to prove to others that I am all while improving my own intelligence. They just see me as a girl with average intelligence and I was once accused of being an idiot. I wonder if Sephiroth had naysayers always doubting him. Looks can be deceiving. I'm not what others claim that I am, and it's annoying. This brings me to my next point. When Sephiroth was still part of SOLDIER, others might have perceived him as so many things, which includes being cold and distant and such. I've said this already, but this isn't just assuming that someone is cold or timid or whatever personality trait. It's about others assuming things about others that may be false. Sephiroth didn't consider himself to be better than everyone else (prior to Nibelheim of course). Heck, he didn't even show interest in fame to the point that he allowed Genesis to take it, possibly unaware that he was jealous of him. Maybe he tried to do that to ease his jealousy. Though Genesis should have handled his jealousy better. Before you assume anything about a person, either get to know the person or keep it to yourself until you see who they really are. Otherwise, it can be damaging to them. It was to Sephiroth. Something tells me all those soldiers had mixed opinions about Sephiroth, many of them potentially formed out of false assumptions and simple ignorance. Okay I'm getting too deep into this due to my own personal experiences, so I will switch to the next similarity.

Sephiroth and I hate certain people. How else can I explain my former friend that I have mentioned plus other people? Although Sephiroth took it to an extreme and hates everyone, I can still relate. Now it doesn't mean I will be as destructive and cruel as Sephiroth, but I can relate. Everyone at ShinRa treated Sephiroth like an experiment without his knowledge. He was never told about his origins. He never knew his parents. Then again, never finding out that Hojo is his father is a blessing (unless he somehow found out already?). He was deceived and manipulated ever since the day he was born. Correction, he was manipulated BEFORE he was born! He has the right to hate those who mistreated him. However, that doesn't justify any of the horrible things he did. Now my case is nothing compared to Sephiroth's since I was simply deceived by certain people, but my dislike for them is reasonable. Seriously, who would be able to let someone pretend to be your friend only to harm you emotionally and verbally, try to control you, spread lies about you, and basically destroy you? That's what my former friend did, and I hate her. All the bullies I've encountered throughout school? I hate them too. But that doesn't mean I would try to hurt them back because that wouldn't make me any better than them. I was given one opportunity to tell off my former friend online after I cut off contact for years. I told her to get well because she was sick, but she was getting better. She insulted me, not directly, but she did imply it. I was furious. But what did I do? I kept my mouth shut, told her to have a good life, and bid her farewell. Telling her everything that she made me feel and how much I loathe her would have only caused trouble, and the last thing I need is for her to stalk me online or try to pick a fight with me since she's freaking insane. She got angry over tiny things, physically assaulted someone just for being rude, as in getting into a conversation between the skank and someone else. Like what the fuck?! She could have told him to wait until she was finished. She was not psychologically well in my opinion, but I'm not one to confirm it because I'm not a psychologist. I thought she had changed but I was wrong. All my suspicions I had about her have been confirmed. Everything. And I vowed to never speak to her ever again. So Sephiroth and I may have handled our hate differently, but it still counts as something we have in common. Looking back, I see Sephiroth as an extreme version of my hate, anger, and pain, making me picture what I would have been like if I had taken it too far. It's a bit terrifying for me to imagine, and I am glad that I have more good inside me.

Now the next thing is something that still affects me to this day, and it's this. Sephiroth and I have felt like we were different, that we didn't belong anywhere. Having an identity crisis isn't fun, and Sephiroth is proof of that. He's not like everyone else. He's the only one with long silver hair and green cat-like eyes, he's part-alien, he's the strongest of all, and he always felt different because of this. I feel like I'm different because I'm not as outgoing as many people, I get worried about what others think of me, I'm not as confident in myself and my talents, and people don't pay attention to a wallflower like me. So I'm trying to improve myself and find my own place where I belong. Sephiroth found his, albeit in a rather dark way, but I have yet to find myself. But I know I will soon, and I have loved ones who can help me.

With all of this that I've said so far, Sephiroth means a lot to me. He means a lot to me more than I thought, and just by typing this, I'm realizing that he's a character that I love and admire in the exact same level as Sonic the Hedgehog. And as silly as it may sound, I get defensive when others talk smack about my favorite fictional characters like Sephiroth. Why? Because he's someone that I can identify with, regardless of the myriad of contrasting characteristics that we have. Opposites attract!

Now what else I wish to talk about related to Sephiroth...Well, there's his current self. I can hear those that say he's a cruel bastard that will kill you at first glance in milliseconds. My boyfriend and his friends think so. Well, you know what? It's bullshit. If that were true, then why didn't he kill Zack, Tifa, and Cloud immediately? Why didn't he kill Cloud and his team right away during numerous points in the game (other than the fact he needed Cloud to get the Black Materia for him)? Because he's not just a one-track mindless killing machine! This may be an unpopular opinion, but really, Sephiroth doesn't go just "Kill kill kill! Stab stab stab!". You kiss him on the cheek, stab. You compliment him on his looks, stab. You try to join him in his cause, stab. You try to have small talk, STAB! It's boring, predictable, and annoying. Do you really think I would do that on my Sephiroth blog? I would have grown tired of it! I deleted the posts about this, but do you want to know how many characters, users, or whatever I've had Sephiroth kill in roleplays???........One. That's right. One, a character that a friend roleplays as here on Tumblr, in a span of....a year-and-a-half, I think? If I had followed the "logic" of Sephiroth the utterly mindless killing machine and does nothing else, I would have had him impale over 1000 characters, users, anons, etc., maybe 10,000. You get my point.

This sort of thing strips everything about Sephiroth. He's cunning, arrogant, and manipulative, so of course I would have to implement that in his interactions if I want him to harm or kill a character, for example. And in some cases, I portray Sephiroth as just being intimidating, mistrustful, and bitter towards characters. In others, he is intrigued by who he's talking to, and he shows a range of emotions (as long as they fit him). I make him multidimensional. Really, try portraying Sephiroth as just a killing machine and nothing else and see how long it takes for you to get tired of taking out tons of people's muses in split seconds. I'm sorry if this portion became somewhat of a rant but it has been bugging me. Moving on to another Sephiroth subject.

Ahhhh, the theories. I almost forgot about them. Let's see, the lab rat theory is kind of possible, but ShinRa didn't blatantly abuse him. Otherwise, Sephiroth would have had serious psychological issues prior to Nibelheim. If he had endured severe physical and psychological abuse, he wouldn't be calm and collected. Of course he was abused to a degree, but the thing is he didn't know he was abused. He had no idea ShinRa used him as just a tool. That's clever of them. Cruel and despicable, but clever. They had to be discreet or else Sephiroth would have questioned their motives early on or tried to get away from them. Sephiroth was their puppet, which does explain why he referred to Cloud as his puppet. If others manipulated him to screw him over, he will do the same back at them. Sephiroth basically gave them a taste of their own medicine. Unfortunately, he takes it out on the whole planet. Think about it, though. He was deceived and manipulated by others, and this is his way of showing others that he will never allow himself to be controlled by anyone anymore. And this brings me to the next theory.

Jenova possessing Sephiroth is a famous theory and I don't blame people for believing and supporting this. I confess that I used to believe this theory as well, but as I looked back at the events of Crisis Core and Final Fantasy 7, it doesn't make sense. First of all, after being used by an evil company his entire life, why would Sephiroth allow himself to be controlled by an alien that arrived to the Planet millennia ago? Yes, he was at the library at ShinRa Manor for a week reading endlessly about his origins without sleeping, and possibly eating or drinking anything. Obviously that must have left him vulnerable, but I don't believe Sephiroth would have been brainwashed easily. He was controlled by ShinRa, and he wasn't going to allow anyone else to control him again, especially Jenova. Sephiroth was the one who controlled her, not the other way around. If Jenova had gained control, that would undermine Sephiroth's reputation as the main antagonist of FF7. He is the villain, the real villain, not Jenova. Sephiroth burned down Nibelheim. Sephiroth killed many people. Sephiroth killed Aeris (or Aerith) in FF7. Sephiroth summoned Meteor to injure the Planet in order to absorb its life stream to become a god. Sephiroth created the Remnants to achieve his goal to claim the Planet as his own, become an unstoppable god, and bring despair to those who stand in his way. It's all Sephiroth. And besides, Jenova is a parasite. I doubt she would have planned all of this before trying to destroy the planet. I also doubt she's even alive. Sephiroth is the master of his ongoing desire to take back what he believes is his planet, conquer it as a god, and destroy anyone who stands in his way.

Alright then, this post has gone long enough. Now I'm not sure if this is all I have to say about Sephiroth. Well, I assumed that I did’t have much else to say in the previous post, and look! Here's another one. I like doing this sort of thing. It makes me feel good and I just love Sephiroth. I could go on forever if I want, but I’ll end it here. I hope you liked this and if there’s any more things that I haven’t said here, I’ll make sure to do a third part.

[laurakinneywrites]

RITA PARK;

fc: chloe bennet | counterpart: rita from oliver and company full name: rita park goes by: rita, reets, etc birthday: 19th december 1995 sexuality: bisexual parents: unknown pets: n/a (give her a pet tho) occupation: thief

Rita knows nothing of her family, nor even where she was born. After being abandoned on the side of the road as a child, Rita was found, taken in, and named, before being hastily tossed into the foster system. Rita was never fortunate enough to settle within any family, always breezing in and out of various foster homes, picked up by potential adoptive parents, only to be discarded when she proved herself to be too difficult to handle.

As a child she had the tendency to be more reserved, always withdrawing and shutting herself off from others, terrified that should she grow close to anybody she'll only be left disappointed when they inevitably abandon her too. As a result of this, and of being such a small and easily disposable person, she was often kicked around and mistreated, both by the kids she went to school with, and her 'families'. She endured years and years of abuse of different varieties, and had to learn to defend and take care of herself when it finally dawned on her that nobody else was going to.

She always yearned for a family, for parents who loved her, for siblings, and friends, and somebody to call her own, but as she grew older she came to accept that the stark truth of it was that she wouldn't ever find a home or safety like that, and that maybe she didn't deserve it. She became all to adamant that, perhaps, she wasn't destined for the life that so many were, and that it was her lot to just keep on fighting back against whatever situation she might find herself in. However, where such conditions might drive most people to insanity, or to revert even further into themselves, it only fuelled Rita. Forcing on a brave face, Rita made damn well sure she would stand up for herself, even to the degree of always mouthing off, only further angering teachers, foster siblings, foster parents, and a whole array of others. Rita's actions only furthered some of the abuse that she experienced, ie giving her foster parents an incentive to beat her for 'acting out'.

She eventually found a loving home, a family that wanted to keep her and protect her from her horrendous past. That was until her foster mother passed away, after a fatal car accident, and in all of his grief, Rita's new foster father turned to alcohol, and in turn became violent. Her only foster sibling, a brother, watched his father's behaviour and began to mimic it, and once again Rita found herself becoming somewhat of a punching bag to the people that were supposed to love and take care of her. Eventually, aged 16, she bolted from the home she was in and ran away. Having to fend for herself, she soon became accustomed to stealing things so as to feed herself, and even going as far as to pick the pockets of unsuspecting strangers for a few dollars to get her through the day.

Of course, life on the streets paved way for a lot of trouble, both inside and outside of the law, but it also meant that she met Artie, her best friend. As someone who has a difficult time trusting people, and certainly has a difficult time trusting men, Rita surprised herself with how taken she was by Artie, who quickly worked his way into her good graces – whether or not he meant to was another question altogether.

As distrusting as she can be, Rita is also a terrible flirt and will try and work her charm on practically anybody, including Artie when they first became acquainted. Soon after their meeting, and joining up with Foland's gang, she met a guy named Derek who, after lots of flirting and a few hook ups here and there, she soon went on to date. Derek was exceptionally possessive, though, and was constantly questioning Rita on her whereabouts and every minor detail of her life. While Rita wasn't the type of person who would give up Artie, or any of Foland's gang, she also didn't like being under such a tight scope, and thought she should have the freedom to live her life without having to answer all of Derek's questions. Things were never just black and white with him, however, and he would switch from being sweet as pie, claiming he wanted to give her the love and respect she deserved, to expecting her to confer with him on all of her decisions in life, believing that he had some sort of hold over her and that she belonged to him.

In addition to all of this, he was incredibly biphobic. On discovering just how open and proud Rita was about her sexuality, he became all the more insecure and suspicious of her, constantly accusing her of cheating and doing him dirty. One day he became exceptionally angry and violent, going so far as to hit her. Terrified of losing somebody else in her life, and being abandoned once more, Rita stayed with Derek despite his anger and his cruelty. Insecure and afraid of abandonment, and never truly being loved, she convinced herself that she probably deserved it for not being a particularly good person, and that this was 'as good as it gets' and that nobody would love her more than Derek would.

Both luckily and unluckily for her, her relationship with Artie always took a forefront, and one day Derek became all the more jealous and angry and, after claiming he'd never do it again, he started hitting her again. Rita got out as fast as she could, just in time for Foland to whisk them all away and into Cherry Grove. She has no idea if Derek knows where she disappeared to, or if he'll make an appearance anytime soon, but she can only hope that he won't.

After years of trauma, emotional, physical, and even sexual abuse, between foster families and exes, Rita has long since given up any dreams and hopes of living a happy and normal life. She's resigned herself to be quite content within Foland's gang, happily picking pockets and helping out where she can, while also doing her best to try and keep some of the boys in line. All foolish notions of happily ever afters have been forgotten, and she counts herself lucky in that she'll always have Artie by her side.

Despite knowing she always has Artie, she's terrified that one day she won't. While she's accepted that maybe her best friend might never leave her – though it took her a while to get there – she's certain he will get himself into a certain degree of trouble that there's no coming back from. While she's definitely defensive and protective of the people she cares for, she is less likely to jump into a fight like her best friend might, and though she knows he's well capable of taking care of himself, she also recognises his reckless actions, and they frighten her a little because he's the one person she won't be able to come back from losing.

Rita suffers from abandonment issues and severe insecurities that are masked in self-deprecating jokes, sarcasm, and extreme levels of faux-confidence. She's incredibly flirty, loves to tease and enjoys comic books and magic, but is also well capable of defending herself where necessary. She's often outspoken and rude, and jumps into situations a little rashly from time to time, but for the most part has good intentions. If she loves you, she loves you wholly, and if she has a crush on you she'll make it known. Rita also loves tea, hates coffee, doesn't drink or smoke, and loves cats and dogs. She loves photography, and would love to make a career out of it someday, though she has no expectations for her own future in that regard.