āĀ TWENTY SEVENĀ āĀ MERMAIDĀ ā FEMALEĀ āĀ EXOTIC DANCER & STUDENTĀ ā
āI can do this, I thought. Then: And even if I can't. I have to.ā
TW: Cancer, Sex Work, Abusive Relationship.
When Sofia was a little girl her parents were madly in love, so it felt anyway as she watched her beautiful merfolk mother and handsome human father dote upon one another. The family lived in a large seaside home, filled with glamorous things, and she felt like she was always smiling.Ā Things stopped being perfect the day she was diagnosed with cancer in her early teens. At first they were a united front, they wanted to do everything they could to help their daughter, they made sure they were always with her for treatments, that even on the days when Sofia could not stand the sight of them they did not give into their anger. However, as things progressed, as treatments were no longer working and the doctor, who had been trying to preserve the young mermaids ability to bear children informed her parents the best course of action would result in her no longer being able to carry them.
That changed things. Sofia's father agreed to support whatever decision she made, it was her body and while she was not an adult he knew ultimately if she did not at least have a voice in the decision that she would never forgive either of them. Sofia wanted to go through with the treatment, because despite the pain of treatments, the exhaustion of just being, and the lack of joy she'd had since her diagnosis she wanted to live, she wanted to live a full life. For her mother however...this was not acceptable, to be unable to have children went against how she was raised, it went against everything she believed her daughter should be. In the end her mother conceded, but it changed things. Even once Sofia had come out of surgery, even once she had started to get better, her mother could not look at the girl or her father.
Healthier than she had been in quite some time Sofia returned to school, returned to life, and that was, of course, when her mother left. Expensive dresses removed from her closet, car gone from the drive way, and her father in tears, regret over what he had done to ruin his marriage. While he never abandoned his daughter Sofia knew he looked at her and felt such horrifically complex things; joy, regret, gratitude, anger. It made her so aware of herself, aware of how other people pushed themselves and their feelings onto her while she did nothing but exist. It shifted how she treated people, how she behaved around them, she was less inclined to give people the benefit of the doubt because ultimately everyone would do as they liked regardless of her.
Once she graduated she moved out, got herself her own place, hoping to become a make-up artist to celebrities. She'd always enjoyed make-up, since she'd done pageants as a girl. It seemed however, other skills proved to be more financially viable and she started stripping - after being a waitress proved dangerous for customers. It surprised Sofia how much she enjoyed it, how it made her feel more in control of how others perceived her, and how she perceived herself.
Of course, that adjusted somewhat when supernaturals came out to the world. The fact she was a mermaid was something that had been shared between herself and her mother, something since her mother had left she'd kept to herself. Now the world knew and she thought perhaps she could share that with those close to her. She couldn't. The toxic relationship she had ended up in grew worse, Sofia trapped in a way she had never been before and unsure what to do.
Fortunately, Sofia met someone at her work who rekindled her value in herself, reminded her of what she had done to live her life and to live it happily. It was, of course, Sofia who truly had to see it in herself though and after he had left, while touring the country, Sofia tracked him down. She had always been a woman of instant decision and she decided she wanted to not lose the person she trusted most. When he settled in Saintes, so did she. Prepared for a life she could live openly. She would follow her passions and trust herself, she'd lived this long, after all.
Sofia Valdez is played by Paris, 29, She/Her, EST
