Name:Β Esra Toulin Akkaya
Age:Β 32
Gender & Pronouns:Β Cis female & she/her
Occupation:Β Interpreter & translator
Neighborhood:Β Oak Gardens
Traits: Enduring, adventurous, cynical, reticent
βΒ and you keep telling yourself there is no smell of war in me but why else would this feel like madness?Β β
trigger warnings: I cannot think of anything so I apologize if something jumps out at you that should have been tagged.
Spoiled would be an understatement to describe Esra Akkaya. Born to self-made multi-millionaires, sheβs wanted for absolutely nothing her entire life. Esra was born in a mansion in the most affluent neighborhood of Blue Harbor and since that day, her entire childhood, she only lived in luxury and had been pampered from the start. Luckily, her personality never really entirely reflected her family's financial status and aside from reflections, she wasnβt much like her parents. She made a choice one day to quit private school and attend public, something her family and all their wealthy neighbors thought to be far beneath them. It was the only way to get Esra to attend school. Her mother had too much of a soft spot to fully argue with her and her father eventually wore down without the backup, and that left young Esra to get her way. The argument made, however, had been hard to beat, especially since it went so far beyond her personality and she clashed with the kids at school so much that all she did was butt heads with them. Esra didnβt like that wealth and who had the best what or the biggest that was all that mattered to everyone around her. Everything was a competition and she hated the feeling of always being measured. That way of life felt shallow to her, not just the peers she went to school with but the world she grew up in as well. Love wasnβt in short supply from her parents and she was blessed with their looks, though it often left her feeling frustrated that most people didnβt look past the surface. Esra craved more from life and from her connections and interactions with others. She wanted people she could really talk to and those that were interested in life rather than parading.
Achievements scholastically were fairly easy. She was sharp and witty like her father and carried her motherβs allure and poise. Sometimes she wondered if she intimidated her teachers into giving her top grades and rather than being upset by that, she found it an amusing thought but never made to exploit it. Like her mother Esra looked too adult for her age and her beauty was hard to resist and she faced very similar things her mother did when she was 16. Men started coming around, even her fatherβs business friends tried getting her attention. Esra hardly showed any interest and quietly despised the disrespect she often felt in the actions of those seeking her attention and affections. There was a time in particular when one of her suitors, a man that clearly went above and beyond to try and win her materialistically, bought her a brand new Ferrari in hopes of gaining her attention and time. Esra crashed the car and made sure it was totaled beyond repair. Any jewelry given to her by these men, she would donate or give away, having no interest in the material things she could easily get herself. Especially since she was already in love with a boy, some would say the boy, and they had already planned out their future together.
It all had started with their parents. They were the best of friends. She and Emir had grown up together from the time they could walk and talk, and neither of their parents had been shy about nudging the two children together. It wasn't just Esra that saw Emir as her destiny. Though, before love came a foundational friendship. The two easily became the best of friends and experienced all of their major milestones together in their young lives. Being teenagers and hormones coming into play was what had eventually changed the nature of their relationship, not that their friendship had and makings on exiting, and they naturally came together romantically. Much to each of their parents wishes being fulfilled. As teenagers and with young love there was no such thing as smooth sailing. Hardships struck each family, growing up wasn't easy, and then came the call of university and what would come next for a young pair that had been trying to hold onto a love that had meant everything to them. Emir went to Oxford in the UK and Esra followed. As an excellent student with high marks and much praise from every single one of her education programs it was an easy acceptance into the prestigious school. The then 18 year old excelled in languages and despite the troubles that plagued her in the four year stint Esra graduated with honors.
Leaving the UK and Emir behind had been the most challenging thing Esra had ever done. She couldn't bear the strife anymore and what their relationship had become felt suffocating and toxic, an escape was needed. It wasn't so much that she had wild oats to sow, she was still in love when she had to break off from her first love, they had each seemingly changed. That future she once saw so brightly and clearly had blurred and the romance had long felt strained. It would mark a 5 year time period where the two best friends wouldn't speak. Esra went on to establish her career, becoming an interpreter and translator for diplomats, politicians, and high profile figures. There's even some credits to her name for translated texts. As she built her career however was when other parts of her life had begun to fall apart. She began to understand that it was impossible to have it all and only one area of your life could be going well at a time. Since her career was soaring that meant her love life was in flames. Esra's father, incredibly disappointed in her breakup with Emir, had set out to find the second best suitor for his daughter. While her parents may have been traditional she was not and would not accept the man that her father had pushed her to marry. This not only caused a huge fight their relationship has not been the same since.
Being in silence and at odds with both her father and Emir had taken their toll on Esra. In too many instances she felt incredibly lonely and fighting the battles in life completely solo had scarred her heart a little. There came a man that had swept her away. He was vastly different from anything she'd known. A small pub owner in the city; he drank, he smoked, played music, and just had an all-around wildness to him that Esra wasnβt used to. The relationship was kept secret from her parents, it had to have been due to their very different social classes and coming from two very different worlds. Plus, Esra liked having something of her own and free from the constant judgment. She knew her parents wouldnβt approve, especially since the pub owner was older, and the secret relationship went on for nearly two years and ended abruptly when an absolute nightmare happened that still haunts her to this very day. If she had known that a few more days wrapped up in him was all she had to feel the warmth of love fluttering in her chest, she wouldnβt have let him out of sight. In the middle of one of the following nights, he unexpectedly fled without explanation, leaving an abundance of questions and worry behind. Esra's questions and worries, that is. He was brilliant minded and capable of being out in the world on his own, Esra knew that much of the little she knew of the man, but his absence felt like death had walked into her life again. The abandonment took a heavy toll on her already weary and grief-stricken shoulders, leaving her to cave in on herself a little. Putting her hands to work had seemed to be the only thing that pulled the gloomy woman from her bed; whether it was paint brushes in her hands or carving and sculpting tools in her grip, books held gently and typewriter keys under her fingertips, through her continued charity work and completely throwing herself into saving anything and everyone she could β Esra found a way to maintain.
Ever since she was capable as a child Esra was drawing and painting, she enjoyed using her hands to craft and create things. Learning about sculpting and woodworking in high school she expanded upon her artistic skill set and often made mixed media artwork. Thanks to her family name being so known around the city and holding power she had much of her paintings seen, some even sold and displayed as abstract works seemed to be her greatest talent as they were the most sought after when it came to selling or loaning pieces. She set to make a name for herself strictly on her artwork and talent alone. It had been something she had always been insecure about if anyone truly liked what she created or if it was simply for whom she was and whom she was the child of. Art and philanthropy gave her purpose and life outside of her career. Romance had been downhill since she and Emir had parted and quit speaking to one another and the last thing she wanted of her life was to be one note, that she was great at her job. Being an interpreter earned her nothing but a great paycheck personally, so when Emir came back into her life there was some pride that she was able to share with him that she'd been making life for herself. Just like her mother had often shared with her what Emir had been up to and what was going on in his life, she was sure that anything about her went back through the same channels to him. She worked for important people, created art, tried to make the world a better place, and got to travel. Wasn't that something? In the last 5 years she and her once best friend and forever first love had been working on rebuilding the friendship that had been broken. The only problem standing in the way? What to do with all that love that was once there.
