Post by delaney livia springdale on Jan 27, 2017 19:16:26 GMT -5
DELANEY LIVIA SPRINGDALE
FULL NAME: Delaney Livia Springdale
NICKNAMES: Della, Del.
AGE: 23.
GENDER: Female
SEXUALITY: Straight.
STATUS: Married.
GROUP: Citizen.
GRADE: N/A.
MAJOR: N/A
JOB OCCUPATION: Junior Urban Planner.HAIR: Dark brown and long. G prefers to wear it down with defined waves in the lengths, but if she’s at her desk working she ties it back with a ribbon.
EYES: Blue.
SCARS/BIRTHMARKS: None of major importance.
TATTOOS: She has a very bad homemade tattoo on her left hand ring finger. It’s Memphis’ initials in rough calligraphy, somewhat faded because of the poor quality, but she was drunk at the time and it seemed like the perfect idea in the moment.
PIERCINGS: Ears twice.
PLAY-BY: Anna Christine Speckhart!LIKES: Chocolate Chip Cookies, classic rock, summer, cat naps, ribbons for her hair, boots, being outdoors, her wireless headphones, the colour red, lazy afternoons, playing with parcel tape, snapdragons, garlic bread, sleeping beside her husband, audio books, earthy scents, new pencils, learning guitar, flavoured water, pixie sticks.
DISLIKES: Being apart from her husband, being lectured, feeling stressed, the cold, admitting she’s wrong, feeling jealous, vodka, glitter, Gatorade, late night television, sleeping for too long, sirens at night, managing finances, technology failing her, wearing a lot of make up, forgetting passwords, department stores, power cuts.
FEARS: Losing Memphis, being robbed, drowning.
SECRETS: She’s not slept properly since leaving for college. She just cat naps throughout the day and night, and then gets up and carries on until she feels like she needs another short nap. It’s not the healthiest thing, but no matter how many times she tries to sleep through the night, she can’t.
PERSONALITY: This hot-headed brunette is feisty, but sincere. She never says or does anything she didn’t mean in the first place. Loyal, she’ll defend someone until the very end of time if they don’t break her trust. Delaney is stubborn, and never the time to admit defeat, or accept that she’s wrong. An ambitious young woman, Delaney has shown throughout her life that she can be a hard worker, but she still has a wild streak in her that can break the rules and rebel when the mood strikes her. She went from being a city girl to a country lover, and even now she’s still got a love of the outdoors and the earth, but mostly because it reminds her of her husband and the good times. Chaotic, Delaney is a whirlwind storming through and leaving a mess in her wake more often than not. She won’t ever admit to having a jealous flare, but she does. Despite her boisterous nature, Delaney likes the simple things, and it doesn’t actually take much to keep her happy. People just assume she’d be hard work because of her temper and her bold character. Delaney isn’t one to shy away from an argument, and she’ll use her fists if she must, but if she had to choose, Del is a more vocal fighter than she is physical. She’s something of a dreamer in love, but her heart belongs only to the man whose name she took right out of high school. She’s never even looked at anyone else since, despite all the challenges. Delaney is crazy about her husband, and she’s still convinced he’s the one she’s spending her life with.MOTHER: Agatha Francine Riddle, 48.
FATHER: Carl Jonathan Riddle, 50.
SIBLINGS: None.
OTHERS: Memphis Springdale, 24, hubby!
PETS: Monty. A cat.
HOMETOWN: Nashville, Tennessee.
HISTORY: Carl was an Actuary who met Agatha when he took up a job with the firm she worked for. She was a Personal Assistant for one of the bosses of the firm. The two got to talking after a couple denied the claim they had filed caused the kind of commotion that required the police as well as security, and Carl suggested they go for drinks and a bite to eat after work to relax after the drama of their afternoon. Agatha agreed, and the pair quickly began dating, but it took a few more years before wedding bells rang out across Nashville, and two more before their daughter came screaming into the world.
Delaney was the type of little girl who worried her parents constantly. She chewed on things she wasn’t supposed to, climbed up high on the furniture, and generally gave her parents a fright on a weekly basis if not more often than that. Carl and Agatha had intended to have more children, but their minds changed when Delaney was three, and a trip to the mall turned into a horror story for them. They had started letting their young daughter toddle on reins since she could scream something ruthless to get out of her buggy. Agatha was shopping for a new dress for a formal event the insurance firm was throwing as part of a merger and expansion, and while she was trying some outfits on, Carl was waiting outside the changing rooms with Delaney. During that time, Delaney somehow managed to slip free from her reins and vanished from sight. A frantic search for the infant broke out across the mall, with security and police involved as the lockdown set in and stores searched high and low for the little girl. A man stumbled upon Delaney hidden away in a corner of the mall that was closed off for a store refurbishment. He was part of the construction team coming through to check the electrics when he found the little girl playing in the dust, drawing in the sawdust with her fingers. He knew that people were looking for a toddler, and offered her a toffee if she came with him. Carl saw this scruffy man with his baby and instantly thought the worst, even though the guy was returning Delaney to the frantic search party. Nothing could calm Carl down, but the whole thing was written off as a misadventure, and the construction worker understood the mistake made by a panicked father and let go of any hard feelings. After that though, Carl became shockingly overprotective of Delaney, and instructed Agatha to do the same.
Delaney was driven to and picked up from school and the dance classes her mother enrolled her in when she was a little girl. Play dates had to be arranged ahead of time, and Carl insisted parents were met and vetted before parties, sleepovers, or anything else took place. Thoughts of other children were gone, and Delaney was almost like Rapunzel in a tower with how little freedom she was allowed as she started to grow older. She was still able to scare her parents though, climbing fences or sitting on the back of the couch and hanging off it. She was an adventurous child, and it was not what Carl wanted for his daughter. He needed her to be feminine and well behaved. He wanted good grades, a heavy academic who he could trust when she started to grow older, but he quickly began to worry that Delaney was going to ruin that and veer off down the wrong kind of path. Throughout the years, Carl could never shake off the terror that had engulfed him the day Delaney had gone missing in the mall.
She was a smart girl, quick on her feet, and capable of taking care of herself, but that never stopped her parents from worrying about her, even as she got older. Curfews were always earlier than her friends, and restrictions were tighter, too. Her allowance was monitored closely, and a lot of what she did was vetted and guarded with the watchful eyes of Carl. She had been a sensible little girl, but when she grew old enough to realise that the freedoms her friends had were not extended to her, Delaney began to rebel. She could stamp her feet and pout like the rest of them. Once, she screamed about unfair her parents were until her voice was hoarse, but nothing changed. Carl was adamant that Delaney needed to be kept close, else she would fall prey to the worst kind of things. She began to test the waters and push the boundaries. Delaney stayed out just a few minutes beyond her curfew without letting her parents know she was running late. She deliberately told them she was going to defy them. She took money from her dad and used it to buy skinny jeans, or tiny shorts. She was barely a teenager, but Delaney was determined that she wasn’t going to be locked in a tower for the rest of her life, simply smiling and nodding at every rule and stipulation that was laid down before her. It wasn’t even like she was gaining more freedom and trust the older she got. It was the complete opposite. She felt as though the rope was being pulled tighter, choking out her independence before it could truly manifest.
By the time Delaney was fifteen, Carl was very unhappy with how his daughter was turning out. He was convinced she would be running around Nashville with a bad crowd in another year or two, despite all of his and Agatha’s efforts to keep her from harm and to steer her down the right path. All Delaney wanted was the space to grow, to hang out with her friends at the mall on the weekends, and the option to make the twenty minute walk between school and home. Trying to argue her point fell on deaf ears and everything came back to that one incident when she had been a toddler and hadn’t known any better. Her parents couldn’t let it go. So, Carl made the decision to apply for a relocation at work, offering to move to the new office in Atlanta, Georgia. His bosses agreed to send him there, happy to have someone with his experience in place for when they were ready to open. Carl didn’t want to swap one huge city for another though, so he and Agatha made the choice to move to Gainesville instead. They thought it much more welcoming a place, and truly hoped that it would have a better influence on Delaney than another roaring city.
Delaney, however, was not happy to be moving. She might not have been one of the immensely popular kids at her school, but she had friends who she had known for most of her life. There were boys who she had crushes on, and at fifteen she was starting to navigate the most turbulent of her teenage years. The idea of moving so far away and starting all over again enraged her. She put up one hell of a fight, even refusing to celebrate her sixteenth birthday, which fell in the final week of summer break, over it. She couldn’t understand why her parents told her they were moving for her benefit, when she had been content with most things in Nashville; the only thing she wanted to change was how her parents treated her like fine china!
Due to complications, the move was put off by a few weeks, which meant Delaney missed out on starting her new school at the beginning of the school year as planned. Instead, she would be starting at the beginning of October, after a long weekend of moving and settling in to the suburban house that was just a little smaller than their home in Nashville had been. Delaney’s bedroom window was blocked by a tree that soon became her escape route from the house. Still putting up a great fight about moving, Delaney only put away her own things and refused to do anything else, blasting the music she loved but her parents hated, and stomping up and down the stairs with each box and case. She didn’t want to be there, and told herself she hated it already.
Their neighbours came over and introduced themselves on that first day. They had a daughter of seventeen, who told Delaney that there was a party happening for the local kids, most of which went to their school. Carl quickly shut down the suggestion, explaining that Delaney did not party, but in her bad mood, Delaney told the neighbouring girl that she’d meet her outside at nine that night. It was the first time she used the tree to make her escape, and it was awkward, resulted in a few scratches, but the act of rebellion gave Delaney such a rush that it was worth it. Her parents had brought her here thinking a smaller place might instil some good behaviour into her, but they never once realised that they were the problem, not the cities.
At the party, it took all of five minutes for Delaney to lose her new ‘friend’ to the football star of the high school. After that she moved around the edge of the crowds, feeling so out of place. Eventually she grabbed a drink for herself and moved to the fort that had caught her eye the minute they had arrived at the party. She slipped past the couples, and the friends and eventually stumbled upon a set of stairs that led to an upper level. She slipped up them, tired of wandering through a crowd like she was a ghost, and yet she also didn’t want to go back home either; at least not yet. No sooner had she stepped off that top step did she hear a voice telling her she wasn’t supposed to be up there, that people might be worried about her. Delaney scoffed, retorted that she wasn’t supposed to be anywhere, but that didn’t stop the universe from dropping her there anyway. She was on the verge of mumbling something about her bad mood, when the guy instead welcomed her to stay by showing her where the spare things were. She caught herself blinking, and not just because he was gorgeous. Delaney had no intention of staying, just because she needed to sneak back into her bedroom before morning light, but at the same time a smart girl was not going to turn down one of the first people who had been nice to her. Plus, she could vanish later without having to give her excuses. However, what Delaney hadn’t counted on was how tired she might be after a day of moving and unpacking. The second she laid down she pretty much passed out. The only time she stirred was to kick her tight jeans off and then she was fast asleep again, even with the party raging on just outside. When she woke up it was daylight, and she instantly realised that she was going to be in so much trouble. She staggered and stumbled about, not saying a word to the guy who had slept right by her, as she pulled her jeans and shoes back on and raced off, getting lost twice on her way back home where Agatha and Carl were ready with anger and panic. Quickly, Delaney was grounded for the rest of the month, stripped of her allowance and ordered to come straight home from school without dawdling, or staying back to chat. It was the one perk that had come from moving. Due to the location, and the working hours, neither parent could pick Delaney up from her new high school, so she’d be able to walk, but she had to call one of them from the landline when she was home. They asked how she got out, but she lied and told them the back door, knowing better than to mention the tree and her bedroom window. They had a spare room in their home which was being considered for a home office; it was still possible to switch the room with Delaney’s if they thought their daughter was a flight risk where she was.
When Delaney started school the following week, she spied a few faces from the party, but obviously no one knew her. The only one that jumped out at her was the guy in her history class. He had been the one in the fort, the guy who told her she couldn’t be there, who then gave her blankets and a place to sleep. In that first class she didn’t even know what to say to him, or how to explain what had happened. Part of her didn’t want to be that girl with the crazy protective parents, but deep down she knew there was going to be little she could do about it. Everyone in Nashville who had known her had also known her parents wrapped her in cotton wool, so she doubted this place could be any different. It was only in the following class that her luck changed when the teacher paired them together for a project. Then, Delaney discovered that the guy was called Memphis, that the tree fort was his, and that she knew very little about Civil War battle history. Her parents couldn’t restrict her because she needed to spend time with him to plan and work on the assigned presentation and accompanying visuals. Delaney played like she was completely interested in getting the best grade possible, but in truth she just liked being with him, and the freedom she felt being able to be herself with him up at his family’s farm. She would help out with his chores, laughing at what she couldn’t do, or if she slipped and got dirty. It was a new world to her, and one she loved. Plus, he was drop dead gorgeous, and sometimes the only way the young brunette could stop herself from turning into a stuttering puddle on the floor was to read from the textbooks or repeat back what they had already covered in their work. She quickly wanted more from their young friendship, but she knew he had girls throughout the school who liked him. Delaney didn’t think she stood a chance; and then he kissed her. It was one afternoon, and she had been teasing him about trying to get her to slip in the mud again when she felt his lips on hers. She had been so shocked she hadn’t been able to kiss him back at first, even though it was everything she wanted. Not that she hadn’t been dropping huge hints, flirting shamelessly, and wearing everything she had that revealed as much as she could to try and show she could be as good as the other girls he had wanted in the past or who wanted him now. Telling him it was about time, Memphis barely had the chance to ask her out on a date before she was saying yes.
She knew her parents were not going to be happy about her dating. At all. She didn’t even ask, but rather told them that she had a date. An argument broke out, but she stood her ground and said she was going no matter what. Even after she left the room she still heard the loud voices down below. Agatha was the reasonable one, pointing out that this day would come sooner or later, and best get it over with. Still, Delaney knew this wasn’t a triumph. She felt a combination of excitement and sickness when Memphis was due to pick her up for their date night, and the second he pulled up and knocked on the door she could feel her father’s disdain throughout the house. Still, she was dressed in a new dress and boots, and felt really pretty for the first time in her life. Her dad was not taking that from her. At least not until she got home, when she was forbidden from seeing Memphis again. Carl told her he was a bad choice, a poor future, and someone who would only lead her to ruin. Delaney ought to be focusing on her studies, not boys. Memphis might have been a country boy with rough hands from hard work, but Delaney felt safe and loved with him. She wasn’t about to let that go.
So, she snuck out to be with him, made up more projects, and had friends cover when she went on dates with Memphis. Many nights were spent in the fort, or the occasional night was in his bedroom after dinner with his family or when the weather was too stormy to be so far out at the fort. It hadn’t taken long for Delaney to realise she loved Memphis completely. She hated being apart from him, and sneaking back to her bedroom at sunrise was almost the worst part of her day, even if she knew she’d see him at school in just a few short hours. Nights they couldn’t spend together were filled with text messages and calls, and Delaney loved talking with him about the days to come when they could spend their lives together. They spoke about after college, tucked up in each other’s arms, whispering how they’d have this perfect life together. She was young, some might have called her foolish, but she knew even at sixteen that she wanted to spend her life with Memphis.
As college approached, more and more people asked her about the relationship. They had no plans to break up, but Delaney was going to the New York Institute of Technology and Memphis had a spot waiting at UC Berkley. Delaney wasn’t blind to the strained smiles at the mention of long distance. Her parents, while oblivious to Delaney sneaking out so much and spending many nights out of her own bed, knew that she was still dating the man they disapproved of, pushed her to end things. They worked at her with the idea of other girls at his college, the distance, and their youth. A lot of times it was simply “it’ll never work out”. Angry at the amount of times she was hearing such comments, Delaney ranted to Memphis about how she was sick and tired of listening to people say it. She was absolutely crazy about him and she didn’t want anyone else. She knew he felt the same way. It was only a few nights later when she was told to meet him at the fort – which was nothing unusual – but what was unusual was the way the place was done up. It was completely romantic, more than she ever had thought of, and definitely not what she was expecting. That was the night Memphis proposed to her, and the question was barely out of his mouth before Delaney said yes to him. He had proposed with a necklace, not a ring, so it was something she could hide easily, but something just as special. Delaney couldn’t wait to be his wife, and that night she laughed and kissed him while telling him how wonderful their life was going to be together. Somewhere along the way they came up with the idea to elope. She was eighteen, no one could stop them. Plus, they’d be married for college and that way their future together was guaranteed. A few days later, and another lie spun to her overprotective parents about a sleepover at a friend’s, the happy couple headed to Atlanta. They were doing this in secret, with little money, so Delaney picked up a simple dress on sale in one of her usual stores, and they skipped out on the rings before saying “I do” at City Hall, and having their honeymoon at a local hotel that they could afford.
Delaney never told her parents that she was now Delaney Springdale, and not Delaney Riddle. They were paying her college tuition, and at this point she couldn’t afford to be cut off from them. Their restrictions hadn’t allowed her to have a job after school or on the weekends, and nothing was set up in New York for her aside from a college dorm room. Plus, she thought that after the years of finding her own freedom with the help of a well placed tree, it seemed only fair that her parents pay and make up for the final thing that would grant her the ultimate freedom from their shackles. Memphis told his family, who had always been welcoming to Delaney, often shockingly so since she wasn’t used to parents who were so trusting or let their children make their choices. Delaney also didn’t hide her marriage status when she got to college.
College was hard though. It wasn’t like Delaney could run to him and let her troubles vanish as she curled up in his arms. No, they had to make do with texts and calls mostly, which sometimes went missed or unanswered because of class schedules or sleep. Their Skype dates could sometimes fail because of unreliable technology or a roommate stomping in and crashing the whole private moment. Plus, Delaney discovered she was quite the jealous monster after Memphis joined a frat out at Berkley and suddenly all his social media pictures included these really pretty girls. She trusted her husband completely, and loved him entirely, but she didn’t trust everyone else out there. Plus, she imagined his experiences weren’t all that different to hers. Delaney had people who laughed at the marriage, suggested that what Memphis didn’t know couldn’t hurt him, and even used the old “it’s not cheating if he’s in another zip-code.” None of that mattered to Delaney. She wasn’t about to cheat on the love of her life, even when she felt incredibly lonely and missed him terribly. She only wanted him. He surprised her in New York, more than she could go out to him. It was harder for her to justify an excuse to get out to California when her parents were paying for her. Delaney got a job in her sophomore year, but it was only two afternoons and then Saturdays in a clothing store, and the money she made from that she was trying to save to get her own place after graduation. Her parents seemed to expect her to come back to Georgia, but that was the last thing on her mind. The other thing that got her through college was being reunited with an old friend from Nashville. Josh had been her best buddy from the age of five to thirteen, before he had moved to a different school because of bullying. But he was at NYIT with Delaney and they had a shitty little apartment in their final two years together just off the campus. Her parents knew and trusted him, always had done, and didn’t seem to clue into the fact that Josh was a hardcore party kid now who spent more time nursing a hangover than he did in class.
After college graduation, Delaney used her savings, plus some money from relatives, to get her own place. She loved Josh, but his lifestyle did not mesh with hers in large doses, and she had her fingers crossed that soon Memphis could be with her. The place was tiny and far from perfect, but it was hers and it was affordable rent. The young brunette was going on to complete her Master’s in planning and had wrangled herself a position as a Junior Urban Planner along the way. It was going to be exhausting work, positively draining, especially with Memphis still at school so far away from her. Her parents were horrified at her decision to stay in the city, but despite starting most conversations with talk of crime rates and neighbourhood issues, Delaney dealt with them. Plus, they called her and never the other way around. She wanted to prove herself, and worked hard with both her school work and her job. It was draining, and often the young woman overworked herself and spent her weekends off just trying to recoup some of her energy. She missed Memphis terribly, and after five years of their marriage being nothing more than fleeting trips and stolen moments, she wanted more.
YOUR ALIAS: Kim.
RULE WORDS: kidnappedbykim.
WHERE YOU FOUND US: at the end of the rainbow.
SAMPLE:The golden rule is just, no.!
