AGE: Thirty years old (104)
BIRTHDAY: September 1st, 1915
PREFERRED PRONOUNS: She/Her
OCCUPATION: Microbiologist at the Helios Project
PLACE OF BIRTH: Nashville, TN
NEIGHBORHOOD: North Valley
HAS LIVED IN ASTORIA FOR: 10 years
What are the reasons why you’re still living in Astoria? What makes it home to you?
Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, Alice licks her lips before looking up. A shrugs follows before she finally answers. “Where else would I go really? Are some parts of the world better than others, sure, but…” She trails off, chewing on her bottom lip. “I make a difference here. I matter here. Or at least, it’s what I tell myself. The Helios Project… all the good the council does, where else would I find that? I wake up and I have a purpose. Each day, in and out, there’s something to do. Plus, we all understand each other here, more or less.” Fidgeting with her fingers, she looks down and back up. It’s hard to explain how Astoria’s home – more home than Nashville ever could be. Nashville was where she died and was reborn. It’s where she destroyed and consumed. It’s where she scared residents. Astoria doesn’t hold that weight. It’s welcoming – accepting. “The roof over my head. The lease in my name. The job I hold. The citizenship that’s now mine. All of those things make it home to me. I can lay my head down and feel safe.”
How would you describe your relationship with others? Are you close to your family?
“Look, I’ll be the first to admit that I need to get out more. But I’m usually busy. Work keeps me up and out. I don’t mind other people. How could I? I sorta need them to survive.” Not that Alice needs to interact with anyone anymore to feed. A simple hello at the Astoria Blood Center is all it takes for her to feed. An interaction with a small wave and she’s good to go for a few more days. Maybe a week if she pushes herself ( sometimes she does ). “But I generally like people. I try to go out a few times a month. It’s health to have some sort of social interactions.” The truth is that she’s terrified of the things she’s done. Her past isn’t squeaky clean. She knows not talking about it doesn’t make it go away, but it makes it easier to get through the days. A therapist would have a field day with her way of thinking, but she tells herself she doesn’t have time for that. It doesn’t matter either way. Everyone has skeletons in their closet. “Family? No.” A shake of her head as her voice goes quiet. “I don’t have family anymore.”
What’s something about your past you could share with others?
A smile crosses Alice’s features as she sits up a little straighter. “I was actually one of the first women to graduate with a microbiology degree from University of Tennessee. It was hard at the time. People didn’t want to even admit me to the program. I dealt with a lot of misogyny and threats. But I didn’t allow it to hold me back. I’d already wasted a lot of time not pursuing what I wanted, so when the opportunity came up, I fought for it. I don’t necessarily want to be remembered for that, but I’ll be happy knowing if I made it easier for any women who came after me.” She shifts forward in her seat, smile still plastered on her features. “Can I tell you something? I was smarter than my entire class and they hated it. Teachers tried to mark me down for cheating or having a male counterpart help me, but they could never prove it. Mostly because it wasn’t true. I still laugh when I think about it.”
Please elaborate on any violent circumstances you may have been involved with in the past.
Her face draws serious when the questions asked. The nervous ticks fade away and Alice almost goes sickly still. Breathing stops and she hopes it makes the interviewer nervous. A part of her wants them to be frightened so they move on, but another part wants to apologize. She doesn’t waver. “Turning into a vampire isn’t easy. It’s violent. Rebirth isn’t cleansing like some people will have you believe. It’s messy and ugly. I can’t remember a lot of it. I would rather I couldn’t remember any of it. But what good is experience if you erase it.” Her jaw goes tight and her fangs itch in her mouth. They always do when she gets like this. But her control has gotten better over the years. “I’m not proud of my first few years once I turned. I couldn’t control myself. I didn’t want to control myself. No one to show me the way and if anyone offered me guidance, I would have ignored it. I liked killing. I enjoyed it. The hurt and the screams…” She trails off then, fingers curling into her palms. The nails bite at her skin and she’s grateful for it. It reminds her that she’s still alive. “Can we move on please? I’d rather not linger on unpleasant memories. It’s over with now. Has been for a long time.”
What are your weaknessess and strenghts?
A sigh follows the question before she shrugs once again. “Is this one of those questions where I say my greatest weakness is how much I care?” She chuckles softly before running her hands through her hair. “I’m not social enough, first of all. I need to be better about that, but I’ve thrown myself into my work at the Helios Project. The more time I spend there, the closer I feel we could get to a breakthrough. I find it very hard to relax and unwind. I’m trying to be better about it, but you ever feel like you don’t deserve those things?” She clears her throat. “As for strengths, I’d like to say I’m intelligent. Not in a street sense, but science wise, I could go on for hours. I enjoy figuring out how something works from the most base of levels. I could spend days uncovering something new in that way. Although I’m not great with other people, I can garner a laugh from coworkers now and then. I’m fairly sure a sense of humor is still considered a strength. A creature of the night with a smile on their face.”
Your thoughts about supernatural beings.
“How incredible that we live in a world where so many different creatures can coexist peacefully. It blows my mind that it’s not just vampires. When I truly learned about Astoria and what it stood for, I couldn’t even fathom. I heard the rumors. I knew the stories. But it was almost like a fable. I’m sure I’d brushed past a witch or two in my travels, but I never knew. And now, I learn something new every day.” Alice feels her excitement growing as she talks. She’s practically bouncing in her seat. The way her fists unclench and her jaw relaxes. Her mind whips to the new subject glad to be off the previous topic. “I’d love to know more. It’s why I keep an open mind. I think overall, we haven’t learned everything we can yet. You can look to Mrs. Lacroix for further evidence of that. We haven’t unlocked the supernatural potential yet. What a blessing to live in Astoria where we can all live free from outside harm.”
FACECLAIM: Dakota Johnson
PLAYED BY: Jess
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