𝒶𝓊𝓇𝑜𝓇𝒶

aurora’s mother, madeleine merchant, came from a long line of respected spies. she went to gallagher in the late 70s/early 80s and studied seduction & flirtation and linguistics, culture, & assimilation. she was known as a master or disguise, though madeleine always fit best in high society, the world in which she had grown up. aurora’s father, richard rivers, was also a spy, but came from a much more modest background and his occupation was kept secret from the rest of his family. richard went missing during a mission when madeleine was eight months pregnant with rory. he hasn’t been seen since april 29, 1986, so if you see him, let me know.

becoming a mother didn’t change madeleines lifestyle. she had the means to supply rory with the finest nannies and tutors that money could buy. (madeleine had rory’s nannies replaced every three years, which was what she believed to be the appropriate amount of time for rory to become proficient in their native language. though she will say english is her first language, she was learning french at the same time. by the time she graduated from her spy prep high school, rory was fluent in english, french, spanish, italian, german, japanese, and cantonese. it’s excessive). 

rory was a quiet child, especially in contrast to her mother’s outgoing personality. she was always hiding behind her mother’s skirt at cocktail parties and sneaking away to read. she spent a lot of time with her nannies, and learning how to cook or play different instruments. she lacked her mother’s self-confidence, but she did pick up other things from her mother, most importantly the ability to fake it and be whoever she needed to be in any given situation. she watched her mother as she went back and forth between different personas at ease, and over time rory became a natural at putting on masks and transforming herself as if she were playing a character. there was never a debate about whether or not she would be a spy, but if she’d had the chance to try out a different career, rory would have made an incredible actress. such a good actress that she found herself forgetting which traits were really her own and which were part of an assumed personality.

her real personality is quiet and unassuming. she’s always been a wallflower and would rather not speak if she doesn’t feel she has something important to say. she’s very warm and sweet and honestly just pretty soft. but often times in social situations she’ll put on a more bubbly persona, because that seems to make people more comfortable.

rory studied the same things as her mom at gallagher: seduction & flirtation and linguistics, culture, & assimilation. she basically studied lca throughout her entire childhood and it’s an area in which she thrived. seduction & flirtation was somewhat more difficult for her because of how shy and self-conscious she can feel, but it’s something she became good at when she’s pretending to be someone else. 

after gallagher, rory did a lot of traveling and has worked for a handful of different agencies. she’s not of the same caliber as her mother, but she has built up a reputation as a competent field op with an uncanny ability to blend in when undercover. her missions are most often recon. very few people in the spy world know how shy she naturally is. they do know that madeleine merchant is her mother and that has definitely given her a leg up. yay for nepotism. 

when she was contacted about coming back to gallagher, rory jumped at the opportunity. she loved her time there and hopes she can have a positive impact on the current students’ experiences. 

other stuff about rory: she’s an amazing baker. she can play the harp, violin, and piano, but really you should hear her sing. she’s ambidextrous but prefers her left hand. her favorite color is purple. she reads in 90% of her free time. she has died her hair so many colors its a miracle she has any left. she’s an avid journaler. she’s a terrible driver. she definitely has some abandonment issues relating to her father’s disappearance, her mother’s frequent work trips, and her nannies being replaced even though she totally loved them. she doesn’t have a great relationship with her mom, but they do love each other. 

i feel like i’m missing so much but i was supposed to go to bed an hour and a half ago

wanted connections!!

students:

mentees, kids majoring in lca who she can help

students who are super confident and intimidate her even though she’s a grown ass woman

students who are shy and remind her of herself so she wants to help them but they’re both shy so it’s hard

students from spy families who have heard of her mom and are disappointed that she isn’t more like her

alumni:

people from her time at gallagher!! friends, roommates, rivals, anything (she was there 2005-2009)

people from spy families who she’s known her whole life (idk where she grew up so i might just wait to make that fit a connection). but she also travelled a lot so the where doesn’t necessarily matter. maybe they get along, maybe they don’t!

people she’s worked with or come across while working. could be friends, could be someone she just can’t manage to get along with, could be someone who she met while they were working at rival agencies

gimme that angst!! exes, something where they were never a thing but they were something ya know, a flirtationship, they both think the other isn’t interested so they never make a move, opposites attract, enemies to lovers, slow burn, all of the above