#psubiography

MARLEY ROSE

☆ FULL NAME: Marley June Rose ☆ GENDER: Ciswoman ☆ PRONOUNS: She/Her ☆ AGE: 34 (April 13th, 1990) ☆ TYPE: Full sibling; twin ☆ HOMETOWN: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ☆ JOB: Songwriting Professor at PSU; Indie Music Artist ☆ SCHOOL: PSU Alumni ☆ SEXUALITY: Demipansexual ☆ FACECLAIM: Melissa Benoist

ABOUT MARLEY

Marley Rose felt like life was never the same after her dad walked out the door when she was ten years old. It taught her that most things in life were temporary. She took the loss hard, though she never considered herself a daddy’s girl. In fact, she felt much closer to her mother. Perhaps it was that: she saw the way his absence broke her mother’s heart. Marley didn’t understand much about the heartbreak that her mom was experiencing, but still, she wanted to do something to make her mom feel better. She would hide away in her room, grabbing a journal and a pen and would start writing. Whenever she had been sad, she liked to listen to music. Perhaps if she wrote her mom a song, she would start to feel better too. She would go to her mom, presenting the lyrics – she would have her mom hold the paper while Marley stood there, singing her heart out. At the time, the lyrics weren’t great, but Millie Rose appreciated them like it was the best song she’d ever heard. “You’re going to win a Grammy one day for these songs, Marley,” Millie would tell her, with so much conviction in her voice. Marley believed her.

It was easy, the way Marley fell in love with music. She heard it everywhere that she was. In the way her steps sounded against the tile of her kitchen, the wood of their porch. The way it sounded when her mom was in the kitchen, or preparing for an interview. The hustle and bustle of the school hallways - she heard music in all of it. It didn’t take long for Marley to beg Millie to put her in any type of lessons that she could: voice lessons, guitar lessons and piano lessons. Soon enough, Marley’s schedule had become completely taken over by anything and everything music. To Marley, it felt like she was put on the earth to make any type of music at all. She felt more like herself when she was singing, writing songs or playing an instrument. As much as she wanted to share this with the world, she couldn’t seem to get people to pay attention at first. It seemed as if she faded into the background and most people didn’t notice her until they were bumping her shoulder. They’d say sorry, of course, but they wouldn’t even look at her. She was lonely at times, but at least she had her music.

Marley knew that she was lucky. Her mother had money, which meant she was able to try as many things as she possibly wanted to. She had every opportunity given to her, and she took it every chance she got. While the spotlight scared her (mostly because she was used to people ignoring her), there were times where her mother would ask her to perform for her friends (which was a lot of people), and she did. Marley was never sure if they were clapping because they loved Millie, or because they truly thought Marley had a gift. In high school, she was able to join their Glee Club – these people were interested in her songs, her opinions and even more so, they agreed that Marley had a gift. She finally felt like she fit in somewhere. These people understood her: music really was everything.

After high school, Marley traveled to Los Angeles. She knew that if she wanted to make a career with her music, that Los Angeles was the best place to be. There was also Pacific State University, a place for people just like her. Kids and family of those who were famous, just trying to make her own way. She figured it was the best place for her to be. Once again, she embraced the Glee Club there, and had the best time in college. Around this time, she finally started sending EP’s to different record companies, doing shows anywhere that would let her play. She started to have a small following, and decided to release her music independently. There weren’t a lot of fans, of course, but enough to keep her going. Every show she did, there was a familiar face in the crowd. Every once in a while, there was a person who would talk to Marley about how much her music meant to them. And that’s what she was doing it for: to connect to people.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

LYDIA WILDE

☆ FULL NAME: Lydia Eve Wilde ☆ GENDER: Ciswoman ☆ PRONOUNS: She/Her ☆ AGE: 33 (February 4th, 1991) ☆ TYPE: Full sibling; solo (open to twin) ☆ HOMETOWN: Knoxville, Tennessee ☆ JOB: Events Planner at PSU; host of What's Complex? It's Just Sex! sex positivity podcast ☆ SCHOOL: PSU Alumni ☆ SEXUALITY: Fluid ☆ FACECLAIM: Brittany Snow

ABOUT LYDIA

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Were you to ask her parents, they would tell you the sun gets its entire light source from their eldest daughter. From the moment she was born through a fast, easy labor, Lydia has been able to do no wrong, likely because she was such an easygoing, polite child, and the Wilde's have clung onto that thirty-three years in. In reality, Lydia is far from perfect, but as long as she loves her Lord—which she does—and leads by example for her younger siblings—which she does—that seems to be their standard for her. Or perhaps she is just one of their least memorable children... either way, Lydia's home life has been much more smooth-sailing than that of some of her siblings, and she feels major guilt about that every day.

Approachable, but sometimes lacking a filter, Lydia had a large circle of friends growing up, all of whom she trusted perhaps a bit too much, as would come to light during her junior year of high school, the cause of which would destroy her trust in people forever. Lydia had dated a little bit here and there the year prior, behind her parents' back of course, but when she started to fall for Tom in her junior year, and decided to tell her parents about him the more serious they became, she was surprised to find they were thrilled. Tom was from a respectable Christian family like their own, so they approved, and would invite him to family dinners and various events, clearly assuming that one day he would be their son-in-law. Unlike the Wilde's, however, who had been taught the law of chastity, Tom either hadn't or simply didn't care.

Lydia and Tom often kissed and fooled around, but he knew she had no intention of sleeping with him before marriage. He would grumble and groan, but he seemed to respect her wishes, until a party filled with horny teenagers and wine coolers had him talking Lydia into going further. It took a bit of persuasion, but eventually she gave in. However, as their make-out session began to heat up, his hand moving beneath her jeans and between her legs, she suddenly decided she didn't want to do it anymore. She pushed Tom's hand away and told him to stop, but he called her a tease and went back in for more. Lydia lost her virginity that night without her consent, and from then on, her attitude towards people changed.

Much to her parents' dismay, Lydia ended things with Tom soon after. She couldn't tell them why, of course, and to this day they still mention him, still casually tell her he's single whenever she goes home. She didn't just lose Tom in that event, though; people she thought were her friends had known what he'd planned to do and they'd still left her alone with him. It became clear to her that she'd been way too trusting, so she did a complete 180, and instead decided to trust no one, and to let no one close enough to ever hurt her again.

It wasn't until college, where Lydia majored in Events Management, that she really began to reflect, and realized it wasn't just Tom's fault, nor the friends who'd left her in that situation; if Lydia had been more informed, if she'd understood sex better, maybe she could've protected herself. Growing up in the church, however, sex was meant for making babies, not for pleasure, and especially not for women's pleasure, so she'd been failed there, too. By her parents, by their church community... they'd failed her, just like they'd failed plenty of other young people who had come before her, and who would grow up in that environment for years to come.

Researching and informing herself on safe sex helped Lydia not to be so scared of the concept, and soon she learned that she enjoyed sex, just like plenty of consenting adults did. She found there was nothing shameful about it, and when she realized sex could happen without feelings, therefore nobody could emotionally hurt her if all she was doing was sleeping with them, Lydia began experimenting with sexual partners. Lots of them. Then, while it took a few years of back and forth fighting with herself about it, she decided she should help spread awareness to others, let them know sex didn't have to be what the church made it out to be, and it certainly didn't have to be just for the pleasure of men.

Soon, the podcast, What's Complex? It's Just Sex! was born, where Lydia discusses sex and love—not that she has any experience with the latter—alone and with guests every now and then. Going exclusively by her middle name, Eve, on the podcast, her initial fear of being discovered by her parents or someone they knew quickly dissipated, and now her podcast has a good amount of loyal listeners and followers. Lydia is careful not to attach her face or first and last name to it, and as of yet hasn't run out of things to talk about. For full-time work, she is the resident Events Planner at PSU, but her podcast is her second baby. She still doesn't trust anybody, and still won't let anybody close to her, but that's just fine with her; her work and her podcast keep her plenty busy, and busy is really all that matters.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

JAMES SCHUESTER

☆ FULL NAME: James "Jamie" Vincent Schuester ☆ GENDER: Cisman ☆ PRONOUNS: He/Him ☆ AGE: 37 (July 28th, 1987) ☆ TYPE: Full sibling; solo (open to twin) ☆ HOMETOWN: Columbus, Ohio ☆ JOB: Veterinarian ☆ SCHOOL: PSU Alumni ☆ SEXUALITY: Heterosexual ☆ FACECLAIM: Dustin Milligan

ABOUT JAMES

Being the first born Schuester, James always knew that he had large shoes to fill. His parents expected a lot out of him without ever really pressuring him, but he still listened nonetheless. They’d enroll him in acting classes, vocal lessons, dancing lessons and everything in between, hoping that he would follow in Will’s footsteps. James absolutely loved it. He loved being surrounded by music, to watch people move their bodies in sync with a rhythm, the way they brought characters to life. It all fascinated him, and he grew quite fond of the community. The issue, however, was that James wasn’t good at any of it. Will had hoped that the more classes that he took, that this would be an improvement. Unfortunately, that never came. What he had in enthusiasm, he lacked in talent.

James continued doing what he loved, though - he was oftentimes cast as the chorus, or the character that didn’t have a line in the school play. He was rejected, but he didn’t mind - he wanted to be like his father, and he was going to continue working at it. Around the time when James was a teenager, he came to the realization that he just simply had no talent. The firstborn of Will Schuester had zero talent. Embarrassing, but he embraced it anyway. He still saw how music had transformed people, the way his father took so much care in the people he’d taught - and how it could change their lives. He took this knowledge with him, and always had a soft spot for music anyway.

What they didn’t expect was James’ love for animals. While he was trying to connect to music, instead he was connecting with animals. He would bring home different types of animals and try to nurse them back to life. Will and Emma always helped him take these animals to the veterinarian, and watching them bring back to life animals made James realize exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted to be exactly like them – he wanted to save animals lives. They weren’t disappointed at all, and they encouraged him to learn more and more, which is why choosing his degree was easy: he was going to become a veterinarian, but more specifically, a surgeon - so he could save their lives.

After college and starting his career, James met Addy Corcoran. The two fell in love quickly, and for a while, their relationship felt like the one stable thing in James’s life. But work became more demanding and he found himself increasingly consumed by work. The long hours started to create a rift between him and Addy. James struggled to separate his professional life from his personal one, and the constant stress led to more and more fights. Despite how much he loves Addy, James finds himself repeating the same mistakes —working too much and not knowing how to balance his career with his relationship.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

The very epitome of theater kid himself, Will Schuester’s life was always going to be surrounded by performance. Unfortunately for him, marrying his high school sweetheart, Terri, turned out to be more sour than sweet, and when their relationship turned toxic, with Terri faking a pregnancy in an effort to keep him around, Will had to give up on his then-dream job of coaching a winning high school Glee Club for free to focus on his main Spanish teaching job. When news of Terri’s fake pregnancy came to light, Will filed for divorce, seeking comfort in the arms of his colleague, the school’s guidance counselor, Emma Pillsbury. The two wed in the year to follow.

Supported by his new wife—who made more than him financially anyway—Will decided to quit his job as high school Spanish teacher, and instead secure a space to open a performing arts studio. The studio and its classes growing in popularity quickly, Will was approached by a production company interested in making a reality show. Soon, The Schue Must Go On, a show focusing on the studio’s child performers with Will the adult face as the main teacher and owner, was born. It was supposed to be something of a filler show, but it gained followers quickly, and soon America was obsessed with watching bratty children compete against each other in their dance, voice and acting classes under Will’s guidance, his family shooting to fame in the blink of an eye.

NOLAN JESSOPS

☆ FULL NAME: Nolan Niall Jessops ☆ GENDER: Cisman ☆ PRONOUNS: He/Him ☆ AGE: 23 (February 4th, 2001) ☆ TYPE: Half sibling; solo (open to twin) ☆ HOMETOWN: Los Angeles, California ☆ JOB: Model; Freelance Photographer ☆ SCHOOL: PSU Alumni ☆ SEXUALITY: Bisexual ☆ FACECLAIM: Gavin Casalegno

ABOUT NOLAN

TW: Depression, Anxiety, Abandonment issues

Nolan's mom was a known model of Molly Jessops, she had given up modelling when she had him. He was a mommy’s boy and was always close to her most of the time, she was a young mom who was brought in by the lure of the man called Russell Fabray who got her pregnant and then upped and left. She was obsessed with him and for the first five years of Nolan’s life, his mom spent trying to get Russell’s attention and lusting over him that it felt like he wasn’t good enough for his mom.  When his mom stopped moping about him and moved on with his life, she did everything to make it right for him and make his life better. 

Growing up, Nolan was a closed off kid and teenager he didn’t really talk to many people and he developed anxiety and depression so he would always be in his own space and going to school and then leaving without talking to people because he just didn’t like the idea of making friends because he got scared they would abandon him and not want to be in his life like a few kids had done and how his dad was never around. 

When Nolan was 15 his mom bought him a camera for his birthday and he found a love for photography and was always out taking photos it wasn’t something that he had learnt but he had taught himself everything to do with photography and then created an instagram to show off his photography and soon found people loved what he had done and he gained a following and it was what made him want to grow up and do photography.

During high school he learnt how to make friends but he was still sceptical and he still kept people at arms length for a while until he knew he could trust them. He soon met his moms friend from her modelling days and her daughter Imogen, they hit it off from the get go and it was her who got him into modelling. He did a few shoots with a few people his mom knew and then got scouted and got an agent and then started modelling professionally when he was 17 whilst he was still at school. He then started dating Imogen who was his first everything and for about 2 years they were great but things started to stop working for them, partly because she was busier than him once they were 19, she finished school, didn’t go to college so was travelling a lot for shoots, and also he was starting to realise he was into both girls and guys and felt like whilst he was confused it was right to break up with her. So they ended whilst still remaining friends to this day.

Nolan still went to college after High School, to study Photography because he knew he wanted to do freelance photography on the side of his modelling career and he honestly had a great time learning this during college. Since he graduated, life has become crazy. He went full time into modelling whilst doing photography on the side. He has also really explored his sexuality and he has found it enlightening and more understanding as time went on. 

FAMILY BACKGROUND

CLARISSA D'ANGELO

☆ FULL NAME: Clarissa “Lissa” Erika D'Angelo ☆ GENDER: Ciswoman ☆ PRONOUNS: She/Her ☆ AGE: 35 (August 29th, 1989) ☆ TYPE: Half sibling; solo ☆ HOMETOWN: Milan, Italy ☆ JOB: Twitch Streamer; Content Creator; Musician ☆ SCHOOL: PSU Alumni ☆ SEXUALITY: Pansexual ☆ FACECLAIM: Taylor Swift

ABOUT CLARISSA

Brianna Hawthorne and Max Anderson had a heated, but short lived, affair on the set of a movie the pair filmed together. She was a barely on screen side character and he was the star. She was, at the time, unaware of who exactly he was, much less that he had a wife, and when the filming ended, so did their contact. Shortly after, Brianna met her husband, Antonio D'Angelo, and then found out she was pregnant. Antonio, being a stand up guy, and loving Brianna, saw no harm in staying with her and married her. Then, Clarissa was born in Milan, Italy on August 29, 1989.

The family moved every few years due to her father’s job, resulting in a number of younger siblings born in various places around the world. Over the years, they lived in Greece, England, France, Spain, and Japan, before eventually settling down in Tennessee, where Brianna had once called home before becoming an actress. This led to a lot of language learning for Clarissa, as she wanted to be on top of the language for wherever they were headed next, and because she liked it. She enjoyed learning and in time picked up Latin, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, and Korean, on top of English, Italian, Greek, Spanish, French, and Japanese.

One of the most constant things in Clarissa’s life from a young age was archery. It was something she could do no matter where they moved and she was really good at it. She competed internationally as a child, including going to the Youth Olympic Games and winning gold there a number of times. At sixteen she began her training for the 2008 Olympic Games and made it, competing for her home country of Italy, instead of the United States. Not only did she make it, she won Gold and her name exploded all over social media. And with her name, the reputation that she was high and mighty, having done a lot of interviews at the Olympics in the interviewer’s native tongue. The easy-going but confident air about her sparked rumors that she believed she was better than anyone else and to people who hadn’t followed her career, it looked like she was raw talent. Ignoring the years and years of practice and work she’d put into everything she did.

When Clarissa was seventeen, it became known that she had actually started losing her eye sight. It was gradual and uneven, which meant that she still had a number of years left as an archer, before her eyesight became too bad to keep going. She kept it a secret from anyone outside her family and close friends, while she set her sights (no pun intended) on a future outside of archery. She competed in the 2012 Olympic Games, at the end of which she announced the end of her career as an archer and went public about losing her eye sight. Clarissa then devoted her time to her new career, as well as ways to keep archery in her life, despite the continuing deterioration of her eye sight. Across the two Olympic games she competed in, Clarissa earned four gold medals, two individual, and two team.

Worried that whatever was wrong with Clarissa’s eyesight might be genetic, Brianna braved the backlash and reached out to Max when Clarissa was eighteen. She wanted to, at minimum, warn him that his other children might suffer from similar. Max’s response was to send money to keep Brianna quiet, money that Brianna put away for Clarissa. It was at this time Clarissa was made aware of who her biological father was, though she didn’t much care at the time. In her eyes, she was Antonio’s child and it didn’t matter that, that wasn’t biologically.

Between Antonio’s business and Brianna’s acting career, Clarissa was accepted into PSU, studying Kinesiology with a focus in Occupational Therapy, as well as a psychology minor. She later applied to, and was accepted into, the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at the University of Pittsburgh. By the time Clarissa started her career as an occupational therapist, she was considered legally blind. However, a combination of a strong contact prescription, adaptive technology, and a lot of determination it didn’t really change much for her. She went into business and, after a number of years, at 27, she left Pittsburgh for New York when she was offered a better job and the chance to possibly aid in developing better assistive technology for people like herself, as her eyesight continued to deteriorate.

In 2022, Clarissa made her way back to California for a medical trial regarding her sight loss. The next two years were rough and resulted in nothing but mounting frustrations regarding her eyesight. It was also around this time that Clarissa started streaming on Twitch under the username Pasta4Arrows. It started as just her playing video games to kill time and make the most of being unemployed, but soon developed into a career all its own. Something she was grateful for, as the paperwork that accompanied being an occupational therapist was starting to become near impossible for her to keep up with due to her sight loss. She also found a group of fellow archers with sight loss as a way of keeping herself busy.

Outside of archery and playing video games, Clarissa is an avid musician. It was something she picked up more as her eyesight deteriorated. She used music to cope, realizing that her eyesight wasn’t needed for it as much as she once thought it had been. In a lot of ways, it’s the best thing she has going for her. She’s learned to play the guitar and the piano, and sings relatively often. She is also a lover of cooking. Whether it’s baked goods or elaborate meals, Clarissa has taught herself the best ways to do so. Both of these, alongside typical video game content and disability advocacy, are featured heavily on Clarissa’s twitch and other social media.

Clarissa can be sarcastic as hell, but overall is very laid back. She knows what she’s good at and she’s not afraid to admit to it. While this makes her seem cocky, being so confident while also being laid back, she’s actually extremely hardworking. She knows what it means to put in the work and expects others to do the same. When people have ideas of who she is, she lets them believe what they want. To her, there’s no reason to try and change someone’s mind if they’re not willing to get to know her. She can be really sweet and caring when someone doesn’t have preconceived notions of who she is. She’s pretty nerdy, at her core. Clarissa is a little awkward under it all, having not had much socialization outside of her siblings and competing, so she often stays quiet when she doesn’t know what to do or say in a given situation. This lends itself to her being easily ignored and lets her move about without people noticing her, just to startle them when she finally speaks up.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

ROMAN SMYTHE

☆ FULL NAME: Roman Harrison Smythe ☆ GENDER: Cisman ☆ PRONOUNS: He/Him ☆ AGE: 36 (October 21, 1988) ☆ TYPE: Half sibling; solo ☆ HOMETOWN: New York City, New York ☆ JOB: CEO of the Empire Hotel chain ☆ SCHOOL: PSU Alumni ☆ SEXUALITY: Straight/Fluid ☆ FACECLAIM: Glen Powell

ABOUT ROMAN

Roman grew up the product of two affluent families. His father, Harrison Smythe was well known in finance, and a powerful man. His mother, while she wasn’t exactly the perfect daughter her parents had envisioned, was an heiress to a massive global hotel chain known round the world. His mother was fairly irresponsible in his raising, as she was often known more for partying and just generally, being an heiress than she was at taking care of a child. His father, was rather busy with work quite often, which often left him in the care of his maternal grandparents. He did see both his mother and father regularly, but didn’t find much connection in either of them. As his father married and had more children, he did attempt to spend more time with them, and to connect but the age differences made it difficult, and he found himself busy with school, sports, and then eventually work, following much in his father’s footsteps. 

When Roman was only 12, his mother was found dead in a hotel room in Paris of an apparent overdose. It was astonishing how little it affected him, and his grandparents insisted on therapy, afraid he was repressing his feelings and they would come back to haunt him later. He was glad for the therapy, but the truth of the matter was that while his Mother's passing made him sad, he had very little connection to her, it was the same as the passing of a distant relative. Sad, but life goes on. His grandparents, of course, were devastated, they had lost their only child, but they took comfort in each other and in the fact that the had Roman to care for. His grandparents were the best part of Roman’s life, and he cherished them more than he could put into words. Even at a young age, he understood that the loss of his mother would be nothing in comparison than the loss of his grandparents when that time came. 

Roman spent quite a bit of time at work with his grandparents, they were quite young at heart, and both still working full time at the family hotel chain. His grandfather, Bart was CEO and his grandmother, Marta was CMO, and Roman loved watching them work. He loved watching them captivate a board room, and more so, he loved their morals. They were good people to the bone, no matter how much money they had, they were good to their people, and good to their community. During natural disasters, it was well known that they would happily house those who needed it, not charging them a penny for anything they needed and making sure their people handled going straight through insurance so that the people in their care had nothing to worry about. They also quietly owned and funded countless homeless shelters around the world. Food waste from the restaurants was unacceptable and anything left over at the end of the night was brought to various food banks in the cities they were located.

Bart and Marta volunteered regularly at all kinds of charity events, and hosted just as many as they attended. They were the kind of people that only exist in fairytales, but they were real, and more so, they didn’t brag about their contributions, it was not often that you’d find someone who didn’t know about the kindness of their hearts, but that was solely because word got around, they refused to ever participate in any kinds of awards, or articles written about themselves, and had no use for boasting. And they taught Roman to be the same. To give and give until you could give no more, and then work hard to make more money so you could give that, too. They enjoyed their money as well, they weren’t martyrs living in a box, but they helped in all the ways they knew how.

Roman began working at the hotel at 15, first a bellhop, then later he was in housekeeping, then maintenance. He bussed tables in the restaurants, then waited tables, then learned to help in the kitchen. He worked front desk, he worked security, and he eventually was promoted to management. He knew that people saw him as nepo baby, that he wouldn’t be in that position at only 21 if his grandparents weren’t who they were, and maybe that was true, because he certainly wouldn’t have chosen to start working at a hotel at 15 if it weren’t for them, but he also knew that he was good at his job, and however he got there, he was grateful for his position in life. He was in school as well, PSU majoring in business. 

He climbed the ranks higher as he graduated college, and then went back for his masters degree. Yes, he knew that again, he had an advantage, but he wasn’t going to back down and take less just because of the family he was born into. Eventually, three years ago, his grandfather retired, and he was named the new CEO of The Empire Hotels. Again, he was questioned for if he really deserved it, and he’s spent the last 3 years trying to prove that he is. Profits are up, and they’ve just renovated their LA location, and not once has he ever strayed from his grandparents vigilance for taking care of his employees, or his community.

Roman resides in the penthouse of the LA Empire, it’s easier to oversee most operations from there, and equally as easy to travel when needed via the hotel’s private jet. Roman works day and night, and rarely allows himself any time to relax. He has a dog named Hercules, and as far as love goes, that’s about as far as he’s gotten. He enjoys sex, but keeps everything intentionally casual, it is too difficult to try to maintain any kind of relationship when you’re married to your work.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

The Smythe family, one of New York’s most illustrious, is renowned not only for its wealth but also for its cultural influence. Serena’s father, Harrison Edward Smythe, is a titan in the finance world, known for his ruthless business strategies that shaped global markets. Her mother, Camila Fernández, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina moved to New York City with her family when she was five years old, where she quickly adapted to her new life and pursued a career in acting. Camila achieved early fame with standout roles in popular television series and films, gaining recognition for her performances in high-profile productions. Now she’s a celebrated actress, beloved by audiences worldwide for her captivating performances and undeniable charm.

IVY RUTHERFORD

☆ FULL NAME: Ivy Cadence Rutherford ☆ GENDER: Cisfemale ☆ PRONOUNS: She/Her ☆ AGE: 26 (January 9th, 1998) ☆ TYPE: Adopted sibling; solo ☆ HOMETOWN: Los Angeles, California ☆ JOB: None ☆ SCHOOL: Freshman, majoring in Marketing ☆ SEXUALITY: Fluid ☆ FACECLAIM: Antonia Gentry

ABOUT IVY

TW: Abuse - emotional, psychological, physical, sexual, and controlled eating

Growing up in the spotlight was just never easy for Ivy. She just never really understood who she was as her own person. She was shy and quiet, and she never knew it was just her, or if it was a result of being adopted, and not knowing biologically who she was, but she felt lost. She tried so hard to fit in in school, often compromising her own opinions and values just to seem like she agreed with the crowd. In fact, that was how she ended up with Isaiah in the first place, she had become a cheerleader, and he played football, and everyone just assumed they should be together, so she agreed. She didn’t even really like him that much, she barely even knew him, but she ended up with him for 2 years before she turned 18, and when she did turn 18, he proposed to her, right on her birthday. Of course, she couldn’t bring herself to say no, no one would have liked that, and so she agreed. And barely even a few months later they were married. 

From the day they were married, Ivy knew she’d made a mistake in not standing up for herself. Isaiah believed himself the head of the household, and she was quickly thrown into the tradwife lifestyle against her will. Every morning she woke up before him, got his clothes ready, got his breakfast and lunch ready, and made sure the house was perfectly clean. She spent her days while he was at work at his father’s business participating in various activities he prescribed, which included cleaning the house, working out, various church clubs, time for prayer, and of course making sure a perfectly prepared meal was waiting for him, hot and ready, as soon as he walked in the door, then she would clean up while he relaxed, listen to him tell her about his day or, whatever he felt like talking about, while she sat quietly. Finally, they’d spend an hour reading (always books of his choosing) before heading to the bedroom, where she was to perform her final wifely duty of the night, and then they’d sleep.

It was not just the monotony of it all that was making her miserable, though that was awful, it was that she had absolutely no free will of her own. She picked Isaiah’s clothes each day and laid them out for him, but he chose what she was allowed to wear. Nothing in her entire closet was anything she chose, and rather what he’d tell her to buy. The soaps, lotions and perfumes she used on her body were scents that he preferred. She was not allowed make up, and her workouts were carefully constructed by him, a detailed list of what she’d do and how many reps at the gym each day (which she’d have to show proof of completing), and even the food she ate was his choice. She drank only water, occasionally permitted a lemon slice for flavor on special occasions. She was tasked with cooking delicious meals, but he would approve of her plate before she could eat, often scraping some off and making comments about keeping her figure. Even when she would give herself such a small helping, certain that he’d be pleased, he would always take some away, just to be in control. He would check the fridge each day before he left, counting how many containers of yogurt there were, weighing the bag of grapes, so that when he got home, if he had any suspicions of her overeating he could check. She’d have to strip naked and step on the scale each night before having sex, and once a week he would pull out a measuring tape to check that she had not grown. 

All of it was degrading, and unbearable, but not nearly as unbearable as each month when her period would come and Isaiah would lecture her, that she wasn’t bearing children because she wasn’t dedicated enough to being a good wife. Of course, he didn’t know about the birth control she managed to get and hide in with her cleaning supplies, but she would nod in agreement, promising to try harder, to do better. It wasn’t long before things got worse, Isaiah would come and drink, too much stress from work had him constantly angry. He’d always find ways to take it out on Ivy, whether it was degrading her, or punishing her, her punishments coming in multiple forms, both physical and sexual. He’d tell her constantly that if she was a better wife, he wouldn’t have to be so angry all the time, work wouldn’t stress him out if he had a happier home. Eventually, he decided that he was too sexually repressed by Ivy, and that they’d need to be more experimental if he was to ever feel happy again. Ivy felt she had no choice but to agree, because disagreeing would mean she was subjected to what he wanted all the same, but that he’d just be angry about it. 

The abuse escalated, in all aspects, from both him, and even some of his friends who he allowed to participate. She was also no longer allowed to leave the house. Groceries were delivered, her workouts were done at home, and everything she did was under his observation on various cameras he had set up. It was a living nightmare, and she didn’t know how much more living she could handle. One day when he was away at work, she finally found herself snapping out of it. She had a chance to leave, it wasn’t often she did, she was a captive in her own home, but the fridge had broken, and a new one was being delivered. She knew he would be watching the whole time, he made sure of that, but he couldn’t teleport home, could he? If she begged for help, then she could get out of the house before he could get to her. And that’s just what she did. The poor men delivering the fridge thought she was crazy, but took pity on her and let her into their truck where they dropped her off at a hospital. 

The hospital called the police, of course, seeing very obvious signs of abuse all over Ivy, including deep scars on her skin from the past years of abuse, but she refused to speak to them, to tell them what was going on. She just wanted to be away from it all. Instead, she called her brother, asked to stay with him. She didn’t tell him all of it, but she told him enough to make him agree to let her stay with him for the time being until she could get on her feet. It’s been 6 months now since she’s found freedom, and it’s been difficult, accepting that she can make her own choices. Often apologizing to her brother for eating more than she should, or not cleaning enough out of habit. She started school at PSU as a marketing major. She has no clue what she wants out of life, but figured something in business would at least open some doors to different opportunities for her. 

FAMILY BACKGROUND

WINIFRED PEARCE

☆ FULL NAME: Winifred “Winnie” Eliza Pearce ☆ GENDER: Ciswoman ☆ PRONOUNS: She/Her ☆ AGE: 33 (December 14th, 1990) ☆ TYPE: Half sibling; solo (open to twin) ☆ HOMETOWN: New York City, New York ☆ JOB: Owner and designer for Pretty and Pearce Boutique ☆ SCHOOL: PSU Alumni ☆ SEXUALITY: Lesbian ☆ FACECLAIM: Natasha Liu Bordizzo

ABOUT WINIFRED

Despite Winnie’s outgoing personality and her mother’s hopes that her children would follow in her theatrical footsteps, it was obvious early on that she would never be stagebound. She had two left feet, couldn’t carry a tune to save her life, and the most extravagant acting she’s ever done is faking period cramps to get out of gym class. That didn’t stop her from having an appreciation for her mom’s line of work - Winnie was a Pearce after all, she was practically weaned on the performing arts. Still, while she would happily listen to her mother rehearse for hours on end, Winnie instead found a passion for her dad’s field. She grew up captivated by how the right costuming could completely change her mother’s performance, acting as the final lynchpin before the house lights dimmed and the curtains parted for the show to begin.

Her father taught Winnie how to hem a neckline by age 5, and gifted her her first sewing machine for her 8th birthday. From there, Winnie’s fascination grew into a love for fashion in general. Her parents encouraged her at every turn, even when embracing Winnie’s creativity resulted in a few too many fashion faux pas immortalized in grainy MySpace mirror photos. But hey, you live and you learn. Her homecoming and prom dresses in high school were hand stitched with love and the best embroidery thread money could buy. At 18, Winnie was fully prepared to use her dad’s connections to help get her foot in the door for something bigger, but her parents insisted she get an education before anything else. PSU was the only option she considered, and their fashion design program became her home for the next four years.

It helps to come from money. It helps even more when you’ve spent your entire childhood rubbing elbows with the right people. With her parents’ help, Winnie opened Pretty and Pearce boutique not long after getting her bachelor’s degree. The focus was on local designers, Winnie included, committed to one day going neck-and-neck with the fashion industry. The store was and still is Winnie’s pride and joy. She loves the sense of community it gives her towards returning clients and the neighborhood in general. That was what made it so difficult when she received a call from her father, inviting her back home to assist him in the costume department for a new show off-broadway he’d been hired on.

It took weeks of deliberation but finally, Winnie packed her bags and made her way back to New York. She left the store in the trusted hands of her staff, though her control issues had her calling for updates on a daily basis, and she still sent over the pieces she made in between deadlines. It was anything but glamorous, and Winnie loved every second of it. The show, a fictionalized musical retelling of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory disaster, called for designs outside of anything she’d done before, and it was the exact kind of chaos Winnie thrived in. Plus she got to work with her dad, and be closer to her childhood home. It was a win-win.

Winnie stayed with the team once the show transferred to Broadway, and then for another year until the show closed shortly after missing out on all four of the Tony awards it had been nominated for. It was a crushing blow but Winnie grew up in the business. She had her mother’s tenacity to know that that was simply the way things went. She considered staying in the city to get her name out there more, separate from her dad, but ultimately Winnie knew that she was needed elsewhere. Pretty and Pearce had continued to do well for itself back in LA, and despite the re-adjustment process, Winnie settled back into her old position quickly enough.

She’s not completely given up on one day earning awards for her role in bringing a stage production to life. Theatre is her family’s entire schtick, after all. However Winnie also knows that she can only guarantee her own happiness in life and for now, happiness is seeing customers light up with excitement when they find a piece that makes them feel like themselves. That’s what made her fall in love with fashion to begin with: finding something that finally makes you feel like you belong in your own skin. Outside of work, Winnie’s hobbies include other fiber arts, most notably crochet, and binge-watching terrible reality TV shows from the early 2000s. She had a stubborn streak a mile wide, and unless she is focused on creating, it is easy for her to lose her head in the clouds. For Winnie, every choice she has ever made has been in the pursuit of sharing her passion with the world, no matter how fleeting the opportunity may be.

FAMILY BACKGROUND