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